Najib and Rosmah arrived at 2.55pm to meet with Anwar's defence team headed by Karpal Singh.
They arrived 15 minutes earlier than Anwar's defence team.
The Prime Minister and his wife had met with Anwar's defence team separately for five minutes at the meeting room, Seventh Floor of the complex.
Najib and his wife left the complex at 3.28pm.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the Barisan Nasional (BN) Supreme Council meeting here, Najib said his presence at the Court Complex was to respect the decision made by the judge.
On Aug 8, High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah had allowed two applications by Anwar to interview 15 witnesses including the Prime Minister and his wife regarding the sodomy trial faced by Anwar.
Meanwhile, Karpal Singh said Najib and Rosmah declined to be interviewed for Anwar's ongoing sodomy trial and both of them also did not want to be defence witnesses in the case.
Najib said he respected the decision made by the High Court Judge and "as a Malaysian citizen, I must respect the decision made by the judge, regardless of (my) position."
The Prime Minister said that was why he was present at the court and had stated his stand.
However, he declined to state what he had informed Anwar's defence team because he had "presented the matter according to my rights."
"I know my rights and I had conveyed them to the lawyer representing Anwar, and Anwar was also present there," he told reporters when asked about his presence at the Jalan Duta Court Complex.
Meanwhile, Karpal Singh said Najib and Rosmah had arrived at the meeting room before the defence team and the team met them separately, with Najib entering the room first and Rosmah later.
He said Najib and Rosmah said the same words as soon as they entered the room, which were: "I did not wish to be interviewed and I do not want to be a defence witness."
He also said that both of them were not accompanied by their lawyers.
Asked whether the defence wanted to call Najib, Rosmah and the other witnesses offered by the prosecution team, Karpal Singh said he had yet decide on the matter.
Karpal Singh said another witness, ex-Melaka police chief Datuk Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof, who turned up in court this afternoon, also declined to be interviewed and to be Anwar's defence witness.
As for now, the defence team had interviewed 15 witnesses including the owner of the condominium where the alleged incident occurred, Hasanuddin Abd Hamid, and his wife.
Karpal Singh said the defence had yet to interview six others, including former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
"Therefore, we cannot proceed with the trial, as agreed, before we complete interviewing all the witnesses prior to the trial," he said.
On Monday, High Court Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah granted Anwar's application to interview witnesses offered by the prosecution, including Najib, Rosmah and Musa.
At the close of its case, the prosecution offered 71 witnesses, including Najib and Rosmah. The defence chose to interview only 25.
The court has set Aug 15 to 26 for the defence case. The court had initially set Aug 8 to 26, with Anwar scheduled as the first witness to take the stand.
On May 16, Justice Mohamad Zabidin ordered Anwar to enter his defence after ruling that the latter's former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the complainant in the case, was a truthful and credible witness.
Anwar, 63, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court on Aug 7, 2008, to committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.10 pm and 4.30 pm on June 26 of the same year.
No comments:
Post a Comment