KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak's lawyers have always tried to portray his ongoing trial as a "movie" which ends with the villain turning out to be a hero.
His lawyer went on this tangent again today when he commented about how the trial was proceeding "like a movie", thanks to what was being uncovered during his cross-examination of a key witness.
However, right on cue, lead prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram threw a spanner in the script when he shot back: "...like a movie...but it looks like you have lost the plot".
His off-the-cuff remark caught Najib's lawyer Harvinderjit Singh off-guard but the latter eventually caved in to the humour of the cheeky remark.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali who is presiding over the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial where Najib is accused of squandering RM42 million of the 1MDB-linked company's funds, also found the one-liner funny and broke into a smile.
Harvinderjit had, preceding the remark he made, questioned Najib's former relationship manager Joanna Yu Ging Ping about her Blackberry chats with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low.
He had questioned her extensively on Low's links to Najib's accounts in AmBank and how the billionaire who is linked to the 1MDB scandal had arranged for hundreds of millions to be transferred into them.
He had by then managed to get Yu to agree on several points concerning Low's role in the whole affair until a point where he got exasperated with the banker's long winded way of answering his queries.
Harvinderjit had by then cut her off several times while she was in the midst of answering more than what he had bargained for.
At one point, when he interrupted Yu who was not willing to commit to a "yes" or "no" answer, Sithambaram stood up telling the court that it was only fair and would make better sense if Yu were to explain her answer.
Yu had her way when Harvinder relented and this was when he made the "it's like a movie remark".
Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah has previously said that his team would show how his client's current situation is like a movie.
He said Najib's main defence is that his bank accounts had been manipulated by unauthorised people, outsiders like Jho Low, as well as some bankers who had gone "rogue".
"This case is very interesting. It is going to expose a lot of people. This is going to be almost like a movie, because the person who is suspected most turns out, in the end, to be the victim."
Earlier, Yu in the course of the cross-examination was asked about a lucrative job offer by Jho Low in November 2013.
The 48-year old former corporate banking officer at AmBank confirmed that Low had offered her a job at SRC International with a monthly salary of RM60,000.
She said Low had actually wanted to hire her entire team from AmBank to work with 1MDB.
"He wanted all of us...but we did not want to work with him," she said.
Grilled further on Low's role in transferring funds into Najib's accounts, Yu confirmed that he (Low) had once sought information about transferring US dollars, specifically whether Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) approval was needed for transfers below RM50 million.
Harvinderjit suggested that Low's query about this showed his intention to take RM100 million out of SRC International, convert it into US dollars and send the funds back.
It was revealed that five days after the query, SRC International transferred RM105 million to Putra Perdana Construction's account.
The trial continues on Monday.
Najib, 66, is facing six charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
He is accused of transferring RM42 million of SRC International's money into his own accounts.
He is also accused of abusing his power as prime minister and finance minister by giving government guarantees on SRC Intternational's RM4 billion loan from the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).
The Pekan member of parliament is accused of committing the offences at the AmIslamic Bhd, Jalan Raja Chulan, and the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya between Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 10, 2015.
He faces up to 20-years jail, and fine, if convicted.