KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – The corruption trial of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is expected to start on Wednesday (April 3) despite a last-minute attempt by him to postpone the proceeding.

Najib is facing seven charges of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power involving RM42 million (S$13.94 million) in funds belonging to SRC International, a former unit of troubled state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The seven charges are the first set of charges to be tried in court out of the 42 charges levelled against him. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The Kuala Lumpur Court Complex is expected to be swarmed by local and international media for the trial.

Political analysts said the trial of Malaysia’s former premier would be a landmark event for the country not just legally but also politically.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition swept to power at the general election last year, fuelled in part by voter anger over the 1MDB scandal.

Universiti Malaya political analyst Dr Muhammad Asri Mohd Ali said sympathy or support for Najib could grow if the public perceived that the prosecution had not presented enough evidence during the trial.

He also believed the trial would also not limit Najib’s ability to continue engaging the public through attending events such as those organised by non-governmental organisations.

“The trial will not tie Najib down and I don’t think it will curb his political activities,” he said.

The trial was originally slated on Feb 12 but was postponed because of appeals over procedural matters raised in pre-trial hearings.

Last week, a judge ruled that the trial should proceed.

However, Najib filed a judicial review on Monday against the decision not to grant him a stay on the upcoming proceeding.

Mr Harvinderjit Singh, one of Najib’s lawyers, said the application was filed at the Federal Court but no date has been set for it.

“I can confirm the application to review last week’s Federal Court ruling was filed this afternoon but cannot reveal the grounds,” he told news portal Free Malaysis Today on Monday.

Despite this, the trial is expected to proceed. It is learned that the prosecution has 63 witnesses in its list so far.

The prosecution has also submitted more than 3,000 documents, including SRC International’s meeting minutes, witness documents and other related documents, to the defence.

Najib’s supporters are expected to come in droves to show their support for “Bossku” (our boss), a slang originating from Sabah that Najib has adopted.

There have been calls from the public for the trial to be televised live via an online petition but it remains doubtful that such a plan would take place.

Najib himself welcomed the idea and said it would help transparency and ensure that the rule of law was adhered to.

“The people has the right to know the truth,” the 66-year-old said in a Facebook posting over the weekend.

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