DEBUNKED

Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 75

February 4, 2020

1259

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Najib swears ‘sumpah laknat’ again, denies knowledge of RM42 million.

8.59am: Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery.

Also seen in is his lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and members of the prosecution.

9.20am: Najib enters the witness stand.

The defence team is going to resume re-examination of the accused.

9.23am: Najib testifies he knew that the RM2.6 billion donation was specifically coming to his account due to letters from the Arab royal family.

During re-examination by defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh, Najib says his belief was based on letters saying the money was incoming from then Saudi ruler King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Saud through various channels.

Harvinderjit is asking how Najib knew that RM2.6 billion was to be deposited into his bank account despite the accused during cross-examination saying that he was not informed of the specific amount.

During cross-examination by the prosecution, Najib said that his then-chief private secretary Azlin Alias, among others, usually informed him that enough money has come into his account for him to issue cheques, without a specific amount stated.

“The RM2.6 billion was based on donation letters that I received.

“My belief was that it (RM2.6 billion) was coming from King Abdullah as a donation through various channels,” Najib testifies.

9.36am: The RM2.6 billion donation from the Saudi royal family kept him independent from corporate donors among others in the run-up to 13th General Election, Najib testifies.

During re-examination by Harvinderjit, Najib says that this is meant to keep him from feeling he owed something to other donors such as corporate ones in Malaysia.

“As Umno president, I wanted a source of income to make me independent of other donors, that would mean I do not have an IOU (I owe you) with anyone.

“I was more comfortable if I do not take corporate donations. I do not want a sense of owing gratitude to anyone.

“This source of donation would fulfil the requirement of the party (Umno) which does not include vote-buying (which Najib earlier testifies he does not condone) but for activities like events, billboards. Those are requirements when BN is a party involved in 222 parliamentary seats nationwide (in the run-up to GE13),” Najib testifies.

Najib adds that this is particularly so as the practice of taking political donation is the norm as practised by his predecessor, whom he does not say who it is.

9.40am: Najib testifies that Jho Low helped to promote bilateral relations with the Saudis.

He cites an example of Low helping to get clearance for Malaysian planes to land in Jeddah without visas during the time students were being evacuated from Egypt during the Arab Spring revolutions.

“As you know, the main reason why we had this relationship with Jho Low because it’s proven he had a special relationship with the Saudis and a few other royal families in the Middle East.

“On that basis, he was helpful, not only being the conduit to the Saudis but also helping out in bilateral relations with the kingdom.

“For example, when the Arab Spring happened, and our students were stuck in Egypt and wanted to return home, I did ask him to help out, to get clearance from Saudi (Arabia) to allow to flights into their airspace, and to land our planes in Jeddah without visas,” he said during re-examination by Harvinderjit.

10.17am: Najib denies having messaged Low about a blocked credit card transaction on Dec 23, 2014.

Harvinderjit is asking about a disputed chat log of message conversations between Low and Najib’s then AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu on Dec 23, 2014.

In the purported chat log, Jho Low allegedly forwarded a message from Najib asking why his (Najib) Platinum credit card not going through and asking to check with AmBank about it.

Harvinderjit: Did you send the message to Jho Low?

Najib: No.

Najib, however, admits that there was a Visa Platinum transaction of US$130,625 at Honolulu, Hawaii, in December 2014.

Previously, Najib admitted that the transaction was for the purchase of a Chanel watch at Hawaii on Dec 22, 2014.

10.33am: Court adjourns for a short break.

11am: Proceedings resume.

11.14am: The High Court allows Shafee’s application for a 20-minute break.

Shafee informs Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali this is needed for the defence to prepare and consult with Najib over the final set of re-examination questions.

Harvinderjit has wrapped up his re-examination of Najib earlier, leaving Shafee to put the finishing touches on the re-examination.

Shafee informs the court that the defence would be able to wrap up all re-examination before lunch break today.

11.45am: Proceedings resume.

12.02pm: Najib testifies that Low seemed to represent Saudi Arabia in dealings between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

During re-examination by Shafee, Najib says that Low seemed to be closer to Saudi Arabia rather than Malaysia during dealings that led to Arab donations worth billions of ringgit being deposited into Najib’s bank accounts.

Shafee: You mentioned that Jho Low was dealing with the Arabs. Did he (Low) give the impression that he was representing Malaysia or the Arabs?

Najib: At that time, it was clear that he (Low) was closer to the Saudis rather than Malaysia’s side. He was representing Saudi Arabia at the time.

12.10pm: Najib made a “sumpah laknat”(religious oath) while testifying to show that he did not seek gratification and did not know RM42 million went into his account in relation to his SRC case.

“As a Muslim, wallahi, wabillahi, watallahi, I never sought any gratification, and I did not know that the RM42 million went into my accounts at that material time,” he said during re-examination by Shafee.

Najib stresses that there has been neither written nor verbal evidence in the court that there was an offer, and there was no mention of related meetings taking place in regards to gratification.

He said any attempt to commit such an offence is preposterous and stupid.

“It never happened, and to suggest that as prime minister I would have indulged in something like that is preposterous.

“I cannot be so stupid to be a moron to ask for that kind of graft and being discovered,” says Najib.

12.15pm: Najib testifies that Low ensured donations to flow into his account to retain his faith and confidence.

“Jho Low made a lot of money, and I’m not surprised that he was involved in other scams.

“But having made an immense amount of money elsewhere, I think he must have thought that if he didn’t continue to make sure donations flow into my account, that would affect his relationship with me and lead me to uncover the scams.

“He needed to continue to ensure I had confidence and faith in him, so RM42 million is minuscule compared to what he was making.

“He saw it as an investment, as a payment, so that he can continue to benefit from other activities he was doing,” he said.

12.26pm: Shafee wraps up re-examination of Najib.

Judge Nazlan then allows Najib to be released from the witness stand and adjourns proceedings for lunch break.

2.40pm: Proceedings resume.

2.50pm: Former AmBank relationship manager Krystle Yap testifies that she was part of a team in AmBank that managed Najib’s accounts.

The second defence witness confirms that she was a junior member of the AmBank team, which included senior members Joanna Yu and Daniel Lee.

Reading from a Witness Statement, Yap says among the accounts the team managed were Najib’s 694, 880, 906 and 898 accounts.

The 880, 906 and 898 accounts are a crucial part of Najib’s seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering of RM42 million of funds from SRC.

3.05pm: Yap testifies that she had no personal dealings with Najib in relation to his bank accounts.

During examination-in-chief by defence counsel Farhan Read, Yap says that she merely followed the instructions of Joanna Yu, who then led the team managing Najib’s accounts 880, 906 and 898.

Yap says that she also had no personal dealing with Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, the person authorised by Najib to deal with the accounts.

“I did, however, send emails to Nik Faisal as and when instructed to do so by Joanna Yu”, she says.

3.45pm: Proceedings resume after a brief break as DPP V Sithambaram begins to cross-examine Yap.

3.23pm: The High Court allows a brief break to enable the prosecution to prepare for the cross-examination of Yap.

4.10pm: Yap testifies she has no personal knowledge that incoming funds into Najib’s accounts were not flagged as suspicious.

Sithambaram is asking about her answer in her witness statement where she says incoming funds were not flagged as suspicious as they had come with supporting documents.

Sithambaram: Do you have personal knowledge of this?

Yap: No.

4.23pm: Former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah will testify on behalf of Najib’s defence tomorrow, the High Court hears.

Harvinderjit informs Justice Nazlan of this at the end of proceedings this afternoon, adding that it would take the whole day tomorrow for Irwan Serigar to testify.

Nazlan then adjourns proceedings to 9am tomorrow morning.

Earlier reports:

Feb 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 74

Jan 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 73

Jan 23, Stumbling for Answers at SRC Trial, Najib Is Schooled on Court Proceedings

Jan 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 72

Jan 22, Court Allows Najib to Call Expert to Verify Signatures

Jan 21, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 71

Jan 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 70

Jan 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 69

Jan 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 68

Jan 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 67