IGP Mohamad Fuzi Harun says the police had nothing to do with the valuation process, which was conducted by third-party experts.
- Najib claims not to know of the extent of Rosmah’s jewellery collection
- Insists most of the luxury goods were gifts.
- Rosmah surprised at number of items
- Does not believe valuation comes up to around RM1bil
- Najib alleges a lot of the items do not belong to Rosmah – they were sent for viewing by jewellers who now demand their return, or they belong to his daughter, her husband and mother-in-law
- Says he intended to have a galleria and put all his gifts in it, much like Dr M’s museum in Langkawi
The Inspector-General of Police today dismissed claims by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the valuation of items seized from premises linked to him was “subjective and unrealistic”.
“The valuation of the (luxury) items was based on the assessment of experts who know their true value.
“We were assisted by experts on the brands of items seized, and the police were not involved in determining the value of the goods,” he told reporters.
This followed Najib’s claim in an interview with Malaysiakini yesterday that the RM1.1 billion valuation for the items was “subjective and unrealistic”.
“It depends on the source of the stones, it depends when they were gifted or when they were purchased. Valuation can tend to differ.
“So let us not get too excited about it. Let us look at the items, every single item, and we hope to have a chance to examine these items. And (then) we can come to a conclusion on the source of the items and get an explanation on the items seized by the police,” he said.
He claimed he was not aware of the extent of his wife’s collection of jewellery and other items, stating that he is like any husband in that respect.
He said he was not provided with a full and detailed list of seized items, but was given an incomplete list with vague descriptions, which lacked photographs of the items.
“But what I do know is that over the years, as head of the government, we have been gifted with a lot of items by foreign leaders as well as personal friends and I do know that under the law it is not illegal to receive gifts. These gifts were accumulated over decades.
“For example, (Prime Minister) Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) admitted to receiving 40 horses from his friends and foreign leaders, and he openly uses a lot of corporate jets from his friends so it is not illegal to receive gifts,” Najib said.
The news portal quoted Najib as saying his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is also surprised by the number of items seized.
Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Amar Singh told a press conference on Wednesday that cash and items seized amounted to between RM900 million and RM1.1 billion.
“She doesn’t believe it (the valuation) will come up to that amount,” Najib said.
According to Najib, a significant amount of the seized jewellery does not legally belong to Rosmah.
He claimed that some items were sent for viewing by jewellers who have now written in to legally claim back their items.
A large amount of the jewellery belongs to the couple’s daughter Nooryana Najwa, her husband and mother-in-law.
“But let us not jump to any conclusions at this stage. Let us examine the items individually,” he added.
When asked why he did not declare the gifts received, Najib stated there is no system to do so in the country, and recalled how he wanted election funding to be more transparent.
“I actually suggested in 2010 that there should be, when it came to donations, that we should have a system of transparency and we should record the donations to some independent body.
“I had that specific proposal, but at that time, it was rejected by the opposition who are now part of the government.“They rejected it, I suspect it was because they wanted anonymity because if people who donate to them had their identities known then that would be to their disadvantage,” he mused.
Najib said that it “is on record” that he suggested the idea, and mentioned a memory of speaking to Pemandu’s Datuk Seri Idris Jala as well as the then Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, who liked the idea.
“We brought it forward, but it was rejected by the opposition so that is why it didn’t go through.
“Had it gone through, the election funding in this country would be handled in a much more transparent way. But if I were to do it for BN but not for them, then we would be at a disadvantage.
“So the whole proposal…which is on record, we actually initiated the move for much more transparent, and accountable manner for political donation,” he added.
When asked by Malaysiakini whether it was ethical to accept valuable gifts, Najib said former United States president Barack Obama’s wife Michelle received millions from the late Saudi Arabia ruler, King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud.
“And when King Salman visited Indonesia recently, he also gave millions worth of gifts. So some of these monarchs in certain countries, it’s part of their culture to give costly items.
“Items given to me by these monarchs, I have not used them. I have kept them because I don’t use very expensive things, as my friends know. I don’t use any watches that contain valuable stones,” he added.
Najib said he planned to have a galleria and put all his gifts in it, at some point in time, much like Dr Mahathir’s museum in Langkawi, which has 9,000 items.
“That was my intention. You know, put them in an exhibit because really those things…I have never used.
“I know some expensive rings were given but I have never used them because I know they were expensive and I know as a leader I shouldn’t use them and they will not be used and they will be part of the galleria one day.”