KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak's first-ever trial over alleged corruption and power abuse made history as he became the first former prime minister in Malaysia to face criminal charges, but is also notable for the drama that unfolded both inside and outside the courtroom.

In the first of his five cases to go on trial, Najib is accused of a total of seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering, and abuse of position in his capacity then as prime minister and finance minister over RM42 million of 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Najib's SRC trial has so far stretched for almost 60 days that were spread out from April 3 until October 23, and today will be when High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali decides if Najib will have to present his defence to the seven charges.

But before that, here is Malay Mail's chronological recap of the dramatic events that took place during the SRC trial:





View photos Datuk Seri Najib Razak is seen at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex May 29, 2019. — Picture by Hari Anggara More

1. Books showcase

Amid a relatively small show of support from supporters, Najib started the practice of bringing books with him to the dock from Day Two (April 15) of the trial, with the books focused on topics ranging from the economy, geopolitics to tips for success.

In a surreal moment on Day Four of the trial (April 17), Najib's lawyer Harvinderjit Singh read out in court excerpts from the Billion Dollar Whale boo k regarding the 1MDB scandal.

The excerpt read out included an alleged communication in 2014 where a Malaysian banker assured financier Low Taek Jho that Najib's credit card limit was still US$1 million when the credit card was allegedly used for a US$130,625 bill in a store under luxury brand Chanel in Hawaii.

2. Video leak on Facebook

On April 19, Najib's former special officer Isham Jalil posted on Facebook a 2.14-minute video clip of court proceedings from the fifth day of trial along with his own comments on the prosecution's case and in defence of Najib, which resulted in police launching investigations .

Isham posted on April 20 another video clip of court proceedings that was 31-seconds long, defending his own actions in doing so by arguing that the videos were from the court's Court Recording Transcription (CRT) system.

The High Court then said that the prohibition of public sharing of video footage of court proceedings also extends to CRT recordings, and that such CRT recordings are only provided to Najib's lawyers and the prosecution's lawyers for transcription purposes.

The judge also said that the court may stop providing CRT recordings to both sides if the incident recurs, and warned the public against making prejudicial comments on the trial as it may be considered contempt of court.





View photos Datuk Seri Najib Razak checks his phone at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex May 29, 2019. — Picture by Hari Anggara More