Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak has gone on trial for the first set of some 42 corruption-related charges he faces. Some of the charges include abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering related to a former subsidiary of the state investment fund 1MDB. Multiple appeals by Najib's legal team delayed the start of the trial. And, as Rian Maelzer reports from Kuala Lumpur, the sums of money involved in this first trial are just a fraction of the billions of dollars that prosecutors contend was illegally siphoned off from 1MDB. 

Ten years to the day since he was sworn in as Prime Minister, Najib Razak arrives to face trial on seven corruption-related charges. It had seemed inevitable from the moment he lost power last May. The charges relate to $10 million dollars, prosecutors say, was diverted from a subsidiary of 1MDB to Najib's personal bank account. Najib faces nearly three-dozen other charges involving more than 2 billion dollars in total.

LOKMAN ADAM MEMBER, FORMER RULING PARTY SUPREME COUNCIL "I am here to support Datuk Seri Najib. I believe this is a malicious prosecution, selective prosecution."

"They are coming up with so many cases, trying to show or to create the perception that Datuk Seri Najib is guilty already."

The prosecution plans to introduce thousands of pages of documents, and calls some 60 witnesses. Following last May's election, police raided properties linked to Najib, seizing around a quarter billion dollars' worth of cash, jewelry and designer handbags. But as the trial has approached, Najib has been working hard to rehabilitate his image, especially via social media. And many Malaysians have become impatient over how long it has taken for the former Prime Minister to face justice.

KEITH LEONG ANALYST, KRA GROUP "This is a very important case and it has had political implications and it must be as legitimate as possible. So people should not complain about how long it takes because justice must be done and seen to be done. So the issue of how much time it takes really shouldn't arise."

RIAN MAELZER KUALA LUMPUR "The Attorney General is leading the prosecution. He told the court that as Prime Minister, minister of finance and chairman of 1MDB's board of advisers had wielded maximum control over the nation's purse and nearly absolute power."

Najib is currently free after posting around 1 and a half million dollars bail for the various charges he faces. Rian Maelzer, CGTN, Kuala Lumpur.