KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the expose of audio recordings implicating him with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal was the first in the country and questioned how wiretapping could have been done on a sitting Prime Minister.
The former Prime Minister also questioned the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) decision to make the recording public.
"This can affect diplomatic relations and Malaysia's interest with other countries. I cannot understand why this is being released now when this happened five years ago.
"What is the motive? I wonder if it has anything to do with the coming Kimanis by-election. The timing of the release looks very suspicious," he said at a press conference at the High Court here after his SRC International Bhd trial ended today.
Asked if there were any agencies which could have wiretapped his phone, the Pekan member of parliament said there were but he could not disclose anything further.
To another question on who could have recorded the calls, Najib said: "That is what we want to find out. Whether it is legal or illegal. If it is illegal, they have to answer for it."
Najib also questioned whether it was proper to wiretap a Prime Minister's phone, pointing out that future leaders of the country could also face similar predicament.
"Are you encouraging it?"
Asked if he was worried that the release of the audio recording would affect his ongoing trials, Najib said his lawyers will have to look into the matter.
"Maybe some of the content might be useful for us...in our defence," he said.
On parts of the recording where his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor could be heard 'scolding' him, Najib said that was not the case.
"Scolding? No, no... not scolding. It was a conversation between my wife and me. It should be private. You too chat with your wife, don't you? What is wrong with that? That is the right of every citizen.
"We can discuss anything we want as long as it is not leaked to others. Discussing about what happened every day is a normal thing."
When it was pointed out that she seemed to be advising him on the country's affairs, Najib said that was not the case as he made all the decisions.
Meanwhile, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he was looking into the possibility of filing contempt proceedings against the MACC, especially its chief Latheefa Koya.
He also questioned her decision to make public the audio recording when MACC intended to let police investigate the matter.
"She said she's passing the entire investigation to the police. So what she has literally done is pre-empt the investigation. I think this is a very serious breach."
Asked if it was legal to record someone's conversation, Shafee said it could only be done with the green light from the Attorney General or Solicitor General.
Earlier today, Najib said he was shocked by the release of the audio recording.
At a press conference today, Latheefa played nine clips of phone conversations between Jan 5, 2016 and July 29, 2019 which ran for nearly 45-minutes combined.
The recordings, she said, were received by the MACC sometime this month.