PUTRAJAYA: The High Court today ruled that former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng can appear as a witness and testify in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial here in Malaysia, even though a US court order imposes restrictions on Ng.
Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, the trial judge in Najib’s 1MDB trial here, said the High Court here is bound and subject to its own jurisdiction, and cannot be made subject to any foreign jurisdiction.
The judge said the US court order — a protective order — “does not bind this court”.
The judge also said he will not wait for Ng’s lawyers to ask the US court to make changes to the protective order to enable the former banker to testify in the 1MDB trial in Malaysia.
“This is a public interest case which has proceeded for far too long, this court is not prepared to wait for any variation sought,” he said.
Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then requested to be given half an hour to interview Ng, and the judge then allowed the 1MDB trial to be adjourned for half an hour as requested.
The judge had made the ruling after hearing arguments from both Shafee and Ng’s lawyer on whether he should be called in to testify today.