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TENSION briefly escalated in the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya on the day that Datuk Seri Najib Razak was convicted of abusing his power and laundering RM2.3 billion from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund.
The clash occurred between the presiding judge, Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, and Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, following the delivery of the court’s written judgment.
Sequerah had spent roughly five hours delivering his ruling, finding Najib guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering.
Shortly afterwards, Shafee requested a brief adjournment to consult with his client and review specific points arising from the judgment.
“All that is left is mitigation. I do not understand what further instructions are required,” the judge said, pressing the defence to proceed with mitigation before sentencing.
Shafee, visibly taken aback, emphasised that the request was only for a short pause to allow him to read particular points to Najib.
The exchange grew tense as the defence maintained that the adjournment would be brief, while Sequerah questioned what distinguished this case from others before the court.
After a short back-and-forth, the judge clarified the misunderstanding. “I apologise. I thought you were asking for another date,” Sequerah said, before granting a 30-minute stand-down to allow the defence to confer with Najib.
The brief confrontation highlighted the procedural sensitivities surrounding the historic 1MDB case, in which Najib became the first former Malaysian prime minister to be convicted and imprisoned for corruption and money laundering. - December 26, 2025