KUALA LUMPUR: Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid has been granted temporary release of her passport to attend the Basel Art Exhibition in Switzerland next week.
Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi made the ruling after counsel M. Puravalen who appeared for Na'imah made the application today.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin did not object to the application.
The wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin will get her document today and must return it to court before June 30.
In her supporting affidavit, Na'imah said she would return to Malaysia on or before June 30 and will promptly submit her passport to the court.
"The reason for choosing this period is solely because appointments have been set according to the availability of various individuals I will meet during my trip.
"I have attended all the previous proceedings and have shown no signs of fleeing or failing to appear for my case.
"Therefore, I humbly state that my application here is made in good faith," she said.
On March 22, High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache dismissed Na'imah's application to permanently regain her passport.
Na'imah surrendered her passport at the Sessions Court as part of her bail condition when she was charged with failing to declare her assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
According to the charge sheet, Na'imah failed to comply with an MACC notice to declare her assets such as:
* Companies — Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd;
* Luxury vehicles — Mercedes Benz EQC400 and Mercedes Benz 500SL;
* Properties — Menara Ilham, a residence in Bukit Tunku, four freehold pieces of land and buildings near Bukit Tunku as well as freehold land and a building near Jalan Anthinahapan and Cantoment Road in Penang.
The offence falls under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act which carries a maximum five years' imprisonment and RM100,000 fine upon conviction.
The 67-year-old was released on RM250,000 bail with one surety.
A week later, her 85-year-old husband was also charged with a similar offence involving one bank account, seven luxury vehicles, 38 companies, and 25 properties at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Dec 13, last year.
Na'imah and her two sons, Amir and Amin, on Jan 10, were summoned to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya to have their statements recorded.
MACC had said this was done to ascertain the worth of some of the high-value assets in the country and abroad held under the companies belonging to the family in relation to the probe on Daim.
The commission had said a notice was served to Daim under Section 36(1)(a) of the MACC Act 2009, on June 7 last year, while his family members were served notices under Section 36(1)(b) of the same act.