Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has refused to testify in the ongoing 1MDB corruption trial involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, opting instead to challenge the subpoena issued by Najib’s legal team.
The subpoena, received by police on April 14, did not specify why Razarudin was being called as a defence witness. Home Ministry legal adviser Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad confirmed this during court proceedings, explaining that the lack of clarity prompted their request for more time to file an application to set aside the order.
“We were not informed why the IGP is being called. As such, we ask the court for additional time to contest the subpoena,” Ilmami told High Court Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Najib's defence, represented by Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, clarified that they intended to question Razarudin about comments he previously made regarding Roger Ng Chong Hwa. Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker, is currently under Malaysia’s witness protection programme after being repatriated from the United States.
The defence is also seeking updates from Razarudin on the status of three outstanding arrest warrants issued for former 1MDB legal counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan. Both Ng and Loo were implicated as key players who assisted fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, in diverting billions from the 1MDB sovereign fund.
Ng had fled the country after the 2018 collapse of the Barisan Nasional government and was later convicted in the U.S. for corruption and money laundering, receiving a 10-year prison sentence. He was returned to Malaysia for further investigations and will be sent back to the U.S. once those are completed. Loo, meanwhile, returned voluntarily in July 2023 to cooperate with authorities.
Judge Sequerah reminded all parties to avoid unnecessary delays in the trial, which has already stretched into its seventh year. The court scheduled May 5 for the hearing on the Home Ministry's request to nullify the subpoena against the IGP.
Najib currently faces four charges of abuse of power for receiving RM2.3 billion in bribes from 1MDB, along with 21 counts of money laundering involving the same sum.
Information Source: The Vibes
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