DEBUNKED

Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 67

January 7, 2020

1314

- Advertisement - [resads_adspot id="2"]

Najib blames his then private secretary Azlin, who is dead, and then SRC CEO Nik Faisal, who is missing, for not informing him of the RM42m deposited into his account.

10.14am: The accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery.

Also seen in court are Najib’s lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and members of his defence team.

10.37am: Najib enters the witness stand as proceedings begin.

10.43am: Najib denies playing a role in rushing the issuance of RM4 billion in loans from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC and two government guarantees for the loans.

Najib says this during cross-examination by DPP V Sithambaram on whether he rushed both crucial matters.

It was reported that government guarantees were issued for the two KWAP loans to SRC, comprising RM2 billion in late 2011 and RM2 billion in early 2012.

10.50am: Najib claims that he never received any resolution from SRC’s board of directors that would require his approval as the sole shareholder of the company.

He agrees to the suggestion that this would mean there was no major decision made by SRC’s board of directors between 2011 and 2018.

The line of questioning by Sithambaram came as Najib earlier said he never signed any of the shareholder minutes, which were allegedly issued by him as instructions to the SRC board.

Najib had also previously claimed in court that he could not be issuing shareholder minutes to the board without the board’s resolution coming to him first for deliberation.

Sithambaram: As far as what happened, the board had not passed any resolutions that would require shareholder minutes?

Najib: It appears so.

Sithambaram: It appears so, right. Datuk Seri, when you did not receive any board resolution or director’s circular resolution (DCR), that would mean that from 2011 to 2018, using your own words, no macro or major decisions were made by the single shareholder which is Minister of Finance Incorporated.

Najib: Shareholders can only decide when it goes through the board

Sithambaram: Now the flipside of that is, when you didn’t receive any resolution or DCR, it means that from 2011 to 2018 there was no macro decision that requires Minister of Finance Incorporated’s shareholder minutes.

Najib: Yes.

10.55am: Najib claims that SRC’s board of directors had never referred to him on investing most of its RM4 billion capital overseas.

He disagrees that he had issued a shareholder resolution that approved SRC to invest overseas RM3.6 billion from its two KWAP loans

This is while Najib agrees that then SRC CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil had informed him about the RM3.6 billion investment being carried out by the board, as stated in his witness statement.

Sithambaram: Datuk Seri, in your witness statement, you were informed by Nik Faisal that this investment about RM3.6 billion had been carried out by the board

Najib: If I said so in my witness statement, yes

Sithambaram: From that Datuk Seri, it would only mean that you must have issued a shareholder resolution as shown to you.

Najib: Not necessarily.

11.03am: Najib claims he was surprised when told about SRC’s RM3.6 billion overseas investments.

Answering a series of questions from Sithambaram, Najib, however, says that he did not ask the company’s board of directors on the matter albeit being surprised about it.

This then led Sithambaram to press Najib on the matter, suggesting to the former premier that he was not interested in what SRC was doing with the loans it took from KWAP.

Najib denies this, saying that he left the matter in the hands of SRC’s management.

He also disagrees to a suggestion by Sithambaram that he did not ask the board on the matter because he had known about the investments, and he had indeed signed the shareholder resolutions as shown in court.

For the record, Najib is disputing the papers, saying that he did not sign the documents.

11.12am: Najib testifies that he never asked to be appointed as advisor emeritus of SRC, during cross-examination by Sithambaram.

The DPP is asking Najib whether he should be responsible over what SRC’s board was doing with the RM4 billion in loans the company obtained from KWAP between 2011 and 2012.

Najib: I never asked to be advisor emeritus.

Sithambaram: The prosecution’s case is that you sought to be appointed as advisor emeritus (of SRC).

Najib: No, no, no. I disagree.

11.23am: Najib testifies that he never lodged any police report over the alleged forged SRC shareholders’ minutes, among other key documents.

Sithambaram: Did you inform your lawyers that the documents should not exist?

Najib: We discussed that, yes.

Sithambaram: Since the documents do not exist, did you lodge a police report?

Najib: No, as the trial was ongoing.

Earlier, Najib claimed that the documents could have been forged as he was not shown any SRC minutes for him to sign.

12.10pm: Najib repeats his defence that he purportedly did not know that the RM42 million which entered his accounts in 2014 and 2015 had originated from SRC.

This comes as Sithambaram poses Najib with the latter’s own affidavit in a civil suit Najib filed against Dr Ling Liong Sik in 2015.

In the affidavit, Najib admitted that a sum of US$700 million came into his account as a donation, but he did not have knowledge about another RM42 million having originated from SRC.

Sithambaram: Do you agree you made this statement?

Najib: Yes.

Sithambaram: Just for completeness, this contains your signature?

Najib: Yes, I signed this one (the affidavit)

Sithambaram: And the contents of paragraph 6 represent the truth or do you have any conditions (on the affidavit)?

Najib: Like what I stated here, it (the money) did enter my account but it was not to my knowledge at the material time.

Sithambaram: I want to know if there are any qualifications (to the statement).

Najib: I’m stating it so it will be very clear. At that time, I didn’t know it was SRC’s money because it came through intermediaries. I had no knowledge it was SRC money during the material time.

12.20pm: During the prosecution stage of the RM42 million SRC trial last year, Ihsan Perdana managing director Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman testified that Najib was ‘shocked’ when informed that RM42 million went into his account.

Sithambaram: Shamsul said you expressed shock that it (RM42 million) was paid into your account.

Najib: Yes.

Sithambaram: Then the logical thing is to return the money (to SRC).

Najib: It was the subject of an investigation (then).

When Sithambaram asks whether Najib could have still returned the monies as he was both premier and finance minister at the time. Najib reiterates that he wanted to wait for the outcome of the investigation into the matter.

12.35pm: Najib says that he was never informed about the source of the RM42 million deposited into his account in Dec 2014 and Feb 2015.

He says that the information was kept from him by his late private secretary Azlin Alias and Nik Faisal.

Asked on why would the two would have kept such information from him, Najib tells the lawyer that they should ask the question to the men.

Najib adds that he would never authorise the money from SRC to be deposited into his account.

12.50pm: Proceedings adjourn for lunch.

2.43pm: Proceedings resume after lunch break.

2.45pm: The court hears from Najib that he knew of Jho Low’s involvement with Putra Perdana Construction Sdn Bhd (PPC) between 2011 and 2014.

According to the prosecution’s cross-examination on Najib, the politician had revealed to MACC during questioning that Low, was a member of PPC’s board of directors during the material time.

Najib adds that while he knew that Low had an interest in the company, he did not know what was the nature of the interest.

For the record, PPC was one of the companies whose accounts were involved in transfers of SRC monies into Najib’s AmBank accounts in 2014 and 2015.

Sithambaram: And do you recall that you had mentioned in your MACC statement – ‘I know PPC board members, which are Rosman Abdullah and Jho Low, and as far as I know, they were involved with Putra Perdana (Bhd)’?

Najib: I recall I said that.

Sithambaram: And you knew that in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014…during the material period that Jho Low had an interest in PPC?

Najib: Yes, but I’m not sure of the nature of interest.

3.21pm: Najib gives a qualified “yes” to claims that he is the “ultimate boss”.

He gives this answer when Sithambaram cross-examines him over testimony by former KWAP CEO Azian Mohd Noh that he was the “ultimate boss”.

Last year, during the prosecution stage of Najib’s RM42 million SRC trial, Azian testified Najib as the “ultimate boss” when asked whether Najib had influence over KWAP’s decision to approve the billions of ringgit in loans to SRC.

Sithambaram: You agree that Azian’s then position as KWAP CEO and your position as then Finance Minister made you the ultimate boss?

Najib: All (government-linked) institutions are as part of the administration.

Sithambaram: Azian was KWAP CEO when she said you were the ultimate boss?

Najib: Yes, but not in the strictest sense as you must go through certain processes. That is the way the government works.

Sithambaram: She said you were ultimate boss.

Najib: Subject to due process.

Sithambaram: Are you saying you were not the ultimate boss?

Najib: No, but there is a process.

3.25pm: SRC would not have obtained the RM4 billion in loans from KWAP in 2011 and 2012 without government guarantees, says Najib.

He admits this when responding to Sithambaram on the possibility of SRC being able to secure a huge amount of loan, as a company that was set up only on RM2 capital.

Sithambaram: Are you saying that if they bring (the loan application) directly to KWAP, they will still get the loan?

Najib: The key to all this is if they can secure government guarantees. Because SRC is a company that doesn’t have any capital.

Sithambaram: The long and short of it, without a government guarantee, SRC would not have secured the loan correct?

Najib: Of course.

Najib, when asked about his note ‘bersetuju’ (agree) on SRC’s application to KWAP, however, disputes that it meant he agreed to the loan.

He claims that he agreed for the application process to start, and it was up to KWAP’s discretion.

Sithambaram, however, puts to Najib that this was not true, suggesting that such note by the prime minister was not up to the discretion of the fund.

Sithambaram: When the PM writes ‘bersetuju’ (agree) it is not subject to discretion.

Najib: No, I disagree.

3.40pm: Najib says that he was not aware of the Finance Ministry’s difficulty in obtaining information from SRC.

During prosecution’s cross-examination, Najib says he did not know that the company’s top management did not supply enough information to the ministry’s officers who were preparing a cabinet paper on SRC’s application for a government guarantee.

According to Najib, he assumed that the officers must have sufficient information at the time.

“I assume they must have sufficient information to prepare the cabinet paper. If they didn’t have sufficient information, ketua perbendaharaan (the treasury’s chief) must tell me”.

The treasury is headed by the treasury secretary-general.

4.35pm: Najib replies “do not know” when asked by Sithambaram on who would have the audacity to forge his signatures on documents linked to the RM42 million SRC case.

In the course of this trial, Najib repeatedly questioned the authenticity of his purported signatures on key documents such as the minutes of SRC’s meetings.

Sithambaram: As the prime minister and finance minister, the most powerful man (in Malaysia), involved in the SRC which is a government-linked company, who would have the audacity to forge your signature?

Najib: That is not a fair question.

Sithambaram: The question is simple.

Najib: (Former SRC non-executive director) Suboh (Mohd Yassin) made the same allegation that the documents were forged.

Sithambaram: That is not the question. Who would have done it (forge Najib’s signatures)?

Najib: I do not know.

During the prosecution stage of the trial last year, Suboh testified that Nik Faisal could have forged his (Suboh’s) signature to transfer funds.

4.50pm: Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allows proceedings to adjourn for the day. The trial will resume tomorrow morning.

Earlier reports:

Jan 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 66

Jan 6, Prosecution’s Application to Impeach Najib Dismissed, Judge Ruled No Contradictions Given

Dec 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 65

Dec 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 64