KUALA LUMPUR: Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid has been granted permission to travel overseas to attend an international art exhibition in Venice and to meet her lawyer in London next week.
Sessions Court Judge Azrul Darus allowed Na'imah's application for the temporary release of her passport to enable her to meet her lawyer Dave Vasoodaven from Gulbenkian Andonian Solicitors and attend the La Biennale di Venezia in Venice between July 16 and July 20.
This is her second application to travel overseas for an art exhibition, following her visit to the Basel Art Exhibition in Switzerland last month.
Na'imah is the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
The judge made the ruling after her lawyer, M. Puravalen, informed the court that his client wanted to obtain her passport from Sunday (July 13) until July 25.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry did not object to the application.
The court also ordered Na'imah to return the document to the court within 48 hours of her return to the country on July 27.
Na'imah in her supporting affidavit said she will attend the art exhibition in Venice in her capacity as Yayasan Ilham board of trustee's chairman.
She said Yayasan Ilham is a non-profit foundation established to carry out philanthropic and charitable work, including promoting and exchanging art, culture, and education.
"The reason for choosing this period is solely because appointments have been set according to the availability of various individuals I will meet during my trip," she said.
On March 22, High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache dismissed Na'imah's application to permanently regain her passport.
Na'imah surrendered her passport at the Sessions Court as part of her bail condition when she was charged with failing to declare her assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
According to the charge sheet, Na'imah failed to comply with an MACC notice to declare her assets such as:
*Companies — Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd;* Luxury vehicles — Mercedes Benz EQC400 and Mercedes Benz 500SL;
*Properties — Menara Ilham, a residence in Bukit Tunku, four freehold pieces of land and buildings near Bukit Tunku as well as freehold land and a building near Jalan Anthinahapan and Cantoment Road in Penang.
The offence falls under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act which carries a maximum five years' imprisonment and RM100,000 fine upon conviction.
The 67-year-old was released on RM250,000 bail with one surety.
A week later, her 85-year-old husband was also charged with a similar offence involving one bank account, seven luxury vehicles, 38 companies, and 25 properties at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Dec 13, last year.
Na'imah and her two sons, Amir and Amin, on Jan 10, were summoned to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya to have their statements recorded.
MACC had said this was done to ascertain the worth of some of the high-value assets in the country and abroad held under the companies belonging to the family in relation to the probe on Daim.
The commission had said a notice was served to Daim under Section 36(1)(a) of the MACC Act 2009, on June 7 last year, while his family members were served notices under Section 36(1)(b) of the same act.