KUALA LUMPUR: The normally stoic Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor finally lost her composure today and started sobbing after accusing prosecutors of embarking on a malicious and selective prosecution against her.
The 70-year old wife of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak broke down and started crying as she was reading from her defence statement during her corruption trial.
As tears started rolling down her cheeks and amidst sobbing, Rosmah apologised to High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and asked for the court to allow her to compose herself before continuing with her testimony.
"Let me control myself first Yang Arif," she said, before reaching for some tissues to wipe tears.
The drama started as Rosmah was reaching the last pages of her defence statement and started talking about the prosecution's allegations about her overbearing nature.
Her lawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader had asked her about this and called on Rosmah to also explain about her so-called ability to influence decisions in the public sector as alleged by the prosecution.
Rosmah immediately flew off the handle and said the prosecution had tried its utmost to implicate her to the charges that had been filed against her through any means possible.
She claimed this was being done through the introduction of irrelevant statements and evidence which had nothing to do with her case.
Touching on the introduction of the now infamous 'Can I advise you something' audio recording where she can be heard berating her husband, Rosmah said she and her husband were an ordinary couple who also had their ups and downs.
"The conversation between me and my husband is supposed to be a private matter. I gave him my opinion and my husband listened.
"Sometimes it is the other way round where my husband talks and I listen. Whether or not he accepts my views or me, his, is another matter.
"That is what all couples go through," she said.
Rosmah then went on to explain that in the audio recording she never intended her husband to do exactly as what she could be heard saying.
"I was just stressing my views and my feelings...that is all.
"If that is what they mean by my overbearing nature and ability to influence decisions in the public sector then my marriage would not have lasted for 34 years," she said, directing her comments at lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram.
Rosmah said she found it baffling that the prosecution was bent on portraying her as having a negative personality and someone who used her so-called overbearing nature to lord over Najib.
"They are saying my husband, who was the prime minister at that time, listened to me and awarded the project to the company which I had proposed.
"I absolutely deny this," she said.
Rosmah then started accusing the prosecution of embarking on a malicious and selective prosecution against her and lost her composure.
She said such a situation should never have happened as the prosecutors knew allegations against her were actually baseless.
"Instead they are relying on one main witness (her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor) who has worked hand in hand with them to fix me.
"He did all this just so the charges against him could be dropped and I was turned into a scapegoat.
"The prosecution has closed their eyes to all this and trained their guns on me instead," Rosmah said as she started sobbing.
Rosmah was giving her statement after she was ordered to enter her defence against charges of soliciting RM187.5 million from Jepak Holdings to help the company secure a solar hybrid project for rural schools in Sarawak.
She is also accused of receiving RM6.5 million to ensure the company got the project.
Rosmah will be cross examined by Sri Ram tomorrow.