KUALA LUMPUR – Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, has applied for the temporary return of her passport to attend an art exhibition in Venice and to meet her lawyer in London.
Court documents sighted by Scoop show that the application was filed on July 5 at a sessions court here, via her lawyers Messrs Raj & Sach.
“I am to be in London, United Kingdom on July 15 to meet with my lawyer Dave Vasoodaven of Gulbenkian Andonian Solicitors and in Venice for the International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia from July 16 till 20.
“I am attending this art exhibition in my capacity as the chairman of the board of trustees for Yayasan Ilham, a non-profit foundation established for the carrying out of philanthropic and charity work, which includes the promotion and exchange of arts, culture and education.
“I had chosen those dates solely because the appointments have been set according to the availability of the various individuals that I will be meeting during my travels.
“I am advised and verily believe that this application has been made on an urgent basis to allow for my travels without any delay,” she said in her supporting affidavit, which she also attached a copy of her flight tickets.
The hearing for her application is set tomorrow before judge Azura Alwi.
This is the second time she has put in such an application. In June, the court granted a temporary return of her passport so she could attend art exhibitions in Switzerland and a work trip in Singapore.
In March, the high court rejected Na’imah’s application to permanently retrieve her passport after judge Datuk Ahmad Bache agreed with the prosecution that Na’imah holds the possibility of absconding if she obtained her passport permanently.
However, this did not stop Na’imah from applying to the court for temporary custody of her passport last month, for her to attend art exhibitions in Switzerland and a work trip in Singapore.
The impoundment order on her passport had been set by the sessions court on January 23 after Na’imah claimed trial on a charge of failing to declare her assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
She was charged under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009 for allegedly giving a sworn written statement on December 1, 2023, that did not comply with the notice terms served to her under Section 36(1)(b) of the same legislation.
The impoundment of her travel document is an additional condition for her release on RM250,000 bail until her case is disposed of. – July 10, 2024