NAJIB TRIAL | Despite having his “personal liberty at stake”, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was not accorded sufficient time by the court to mount an effective defence against the criminal charges in his RM42 million SRC International trial, his legal team said.

In making his opening defence statement in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today, lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (above) said the accused was only given 21 days to prepare for his defence.

“Given that Najib’s personal liberty is at stake, due process in accordance with fundamental liberties guaranteed in Article 5 of the Federal Constitution would have merited a reasonable period and opportunity being given to Najib to prepare for and mount an effective defence,” Shafee said...