High Court Sets Sept 17 to Record New Evidence in Rosmah Mansor’s Solar Case Appeal

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 – The High Court has set September 17 to hear additional evidence from star prosecution witness Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah in Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s ongoing RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project corruption appeal. Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin fixed the hearing date on Thursday after defence counsel Datuk Jagjit Singh informed the court that the Court of Appeal had granted Rosmah’s application to adduce new evidence and directed the High Court to record the testimony.

Emphasizing the obligation to adhere to the appellate court’s instructions, Judge Aslam noted, “I have to fix the dates because the order of the Court of Appeal is quite clear. I think we will fix the hearing dates in accordance with the order of the Court of Appeal until a stay is granted.” He further cautioned that “if a stay is granted, then we will take it from there. If not, we will proceed as ordered by the Court of Appeal. If I don’t comply with the order, I will be in contempt of court.”

The procedural hearing follows a September 1 decision by the Court of Appeal allowing Rosmah, the wife of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to introduce new evidence comprising a police report and a statutory declaration affirmed by Rayyan. In the declaration, Rayyan allegedly claimed that he had been subjected to pressure from the prosecution team during the original trial. The appellate panel instructed that the evidence be collected through further cross-examination and re-examination before a High Court judge within a two-week timeframe.

During proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Deepa Nair requested an adjournment, noting that the prosecution had filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Court on September 4 and submitted an application to stay the Court of Appeal’s ruling on September 8. Nair submitted that “the matter will most probably be heard next week. Therefore, we seek for it to be adjourned pending the hearing of the stay application in the Court of Appeal,” adding that Rosmah’s defense would not suffer prejudice from a brief postponement. However, Rosmah’s co-counsel, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, objected to delaying the process, pointing out that the appellate court had strictly mandated the matter be resolved within two weeks and stating, “we only need one day. I handled the cross-examination at the High Court and will be doing so here as well.”

Rosmah, 74, was originally convicted by the High Court on September 1, 2022, on three corruption charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. She was found guilty of soliciting RM187.5 million and receiving RM6.5 million in bribes from Saidi Abang Samsudin, former managing director of Jepak Holdings, through her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor to assist in securing the solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on each charge to run concurrently, alongside an RM970 million fine, and remains out on bail pending the outcome of her appeal.

–NMT