KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today rejected the prosecution's application to have Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial conducted by way of a 'hybrid proceeding'.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah however did not rule out the possibility of having such proceeding conducted in the future.
"With respect to prosecution's application for a hybrid proceeding, after considering oral submissions and reflecting upon the matter, for now I am deciding against it but I am not ruling it out in the future," he said.
The court also adjourned the former prime minister's trial to this Thursday (Dec 16) as the latter and his lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah were barred from entering the courts complex due to their MySejahtera statuses which were flagged as 'casual contact'.
Earlier, Najib's lawyer Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh told the court that his client and fellow lawyer could not enter the court building because of the status in their MySejahtera application.
"My client's status indicates that it is casual contact and under that category, he is not allowed to enter the court's premises. He is at the car park now.
"Both of them were in contact with Shafee's son Muhammad Farhan on Dec 6 and the 10-day quarantine period would expire tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said.
When trial continues this Thursday, the defence will continue with its cross examination on former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman and the company's chief financial officer Azmi Tahir.
Yesterday, the prosecution made an oral application for the trial to be conducted by way of a hybrid proceeding in which the judge and members of the prosecution team will appear physically in court, while Najib and his legal team will attend the proceeding virtually.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib made the application under Section 15A of the Court of Judicature Act (Amendment) 2020, which would enable the court to conduct a remote proceeding since Najib and Shafee were not allowed to enter the court building following the colour code of their MySejahtera status.
Najib, 68, is charged with 25 counts of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds which were deposited into his accounts between 2011 and 2014.
He faces 20 years' jail and fine, if convicted.
The KL Courts Complex only allows those with 'low risk' or blue status in their MySejahtera to enter to enter the building.
