KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he never set foot at fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho's residence in Jalan Kia Peng, as the High Court heard.
The former prime minister said this was contrary to the testimony of several prosecution witnesses, who said that they had visited the rogue financier's home to discuss 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-related financial matters.
"For the record, I have never been to Low's residence, and I didn't even know his house was on Jalan Kia Peng.
"However, several prosecution witnesses from the 1MDB management, like former 1MDB chief executives Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, former 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, and my former officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin visited his home repeatedly.
"This speaks volumes of the conspiracy of these individuals with Low," he said when testifying to defend himself from multiple corruption charges involving the 1MDB financial debacle before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Najib's lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, then highlighted the facts presented by the prosecution witnesses regarding the talking points prepared by Jho Low, which they claimed aligned with Najib's vision for the sovereign wealth fund.
Najib in his defence, denied any knowledge of the fact and was not aware that Low was acting as an "orchestrator" on his behalf at 1MDB.
"I gave no such blessing or approval for the 'talking points.' As I now understand from the evidence presented in this trial, it was a unified directive from Jho Low to his proxies within 1MDB.
"These talking points were crafted solely by Low's collaborators and systematically used to give unified directions regarding this matter.
"I have never, obviously, seen any of these talking points, as if I had seen them contemporaneously, Low's misleading claims would have been uncovered by me," he said.
Najib said it is convenient for Shahrol, Amhari, Hazem, Azmi Tahir (1MDB former chief financial officer), and Loo to place the blame on him, as this narrative protects them from accountability for the criminal activities they knowingly, consciously, and deliberately carried out on behalf of Low.
He said the evidence presented in this trial is filled with examples of their knowing participation in Low's plans, in conspiracy with him.
"There is no such evidence. In the face of that, what can these lying individuals do to defend themselves but to come out with a unified claim of top down approach and that Low somehow they "thought" represented me.
"These preposterous claims only surfaced during the trial and the irresistible inference is that these prosecution's witnesses, at some point before the trial, were brought together to sing one united song of putting the entire blame on me," he added.
Najib, 71, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial continues.