News by THEEDGEMARKETS.COM

Former 1MDB chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi had told the High court today what PITA stood for after he was asked by defence lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah.

Despite them agreeing on Tuesday (May 19) to build the monorail system costing over US$770 million (RM3.35 billion) which links the Miami mainland with Miami Beach, they said the current US$59 million yearly tab would sap money from other commuting routes awaiting transit projects.

Datuk Shaharudin Ali filed the revision application, with a certificate of urgency, at the High Court registry today.

On Mahathir’s behalf, lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla is also seeking to invalidate the position of current Bersatu Secretary-General Datuk Sri Hamzah Zainudin. He is also seeking an investigation into the wrongful dismissal of former Secretary-General Datuk Marzuki Yahya without consulting the chairman of the party, which he claims is still Mahathir.

"We did not do a background check on him (Ong) as he was appointed by Najib," the witness said in reply to Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination.

This is after the REIT said its net property income fell 9% to RM103.51 million for the third quarter ended March 31, 2020 (3QFY20) from RM113.77 million a year ago on lower revenue, which fell 7.1% as its retail and hotel segments were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said that while he understands the judge is bound by the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP), the lawyer said he cannot perform under current circumstances.

Quarterly revenue fell 7.1% to RM140.8 million from RM151.5 million after the Covid-19 pandemic hit its retail and hotel segments, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

During cross-examination, the accused Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asked Shahrol whether he knew the reason for the termination of Ernst & Young (EY) as 1MDB's auditor. He noted that EY lasted "hardly a year" as the fund’s auditor.

The SOPs cover shopping complexes, supermarkets, hypermarkets, departmental stores, boutiques, clothing stores, and mini-marts, said health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement yesterday.