DEBUNKED

Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day 14

March 12, 2020

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Judge rebukes the defence team for pressuring a witness and accusing him of being corrupt.

10am: Wife of former premier Najib Abdul Razak, Rosmah Mansor enters the accused dock as the hearing is about to start for the day.

Also present in court is 12th prosecution witness and former Education Ministry director-general Alias Ahmad.

Rosmah’s lawyers Akberdin Abdul Kader and Jagjit Singh, as well as deputy public prosecutors, have also taken their seats in the courtroom.

10.03am: Trial resumes before Kuala Lumpur High Court Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

10.21am: Judge Zaini rebukes the defence team for pressuring a witness and accusing him of being corrupt.

This comes as Akberdin accuses Alias of having a vested interest in the solar hybrid project.

Akberdin claims that this was why Alias had allegedly made a phone call to a Finance Ministry officer, purportedly to ask the latter to approve advance payment for Jepak Holdings.

“I put it to you, that you took the initiative to call him (MOF officer Othman Semail) after receiving his rejection letter because you have a vested interest in this project,” Akberdin says.

Alias replies in the negative with “disagree”.

“He is not the one on trial,” Zaini then tells Akberdin.

10.45am: Alias tells the court that no payment had been made by the government for the solar hybrid project in Sarawak.

Alias, who is the 12th prosecution witness, says this when correcting Akberdin over advance payment that the ministry requested from the Finance Ministry in 2016 to pay to Jepak.

Alias says that the Education Ministry requested the advance payment for works related to diesel genset at schools in Sarawak, and not for the solar hybrid project.

“This payment is not for the solar hybrid. This is for the (diesel) genset.

“Not a single sen was ever paid for solar hybrid,” he says.

11.27am: Court goes for a short break.

11.42am: Proceedings resume.

12.15pm: Akberdin again presses Alias on the Education Ministry’s interest in the solar hybrid project.

Akberdin puts to Alias that the ministry was the one that showed much interest in getting advance payment for Jepak compared to the company itself.

The lawyer says that while Jepak did not write any letter to the Education Ministry or to Alias to speed up the payment, the latter had been constantly communicating with the Finance Ministry on the matter.

“So, I put it to you, that the one that cares much about this payment is the ministry. They (Jepak) did not even write a letter to you. It was the Education Ministry that cared (about the advance payment), that you wrote letters to MOF,” Akberdin says.

Alias, however, disagrees with the suggestion.

12.39pm: The hearing is adjourned, and scheduled to resume on April 6.

Earlier reports:

Mar 11, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day 13

Mar 10, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day 12

Mar 9, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day 11

Mar 9, Rosmah’s Ex-Aide Rizal Mansor Now in Witness Protection

Feb 20, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day Ten

Feb 20, Witness Tells Rosmah’s Trial Jepak MD Gave RM5 Million to “RM”

Feb 19, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day Nine

Feb 18, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day Eight

Feb 18, Rosmah’s Lawyer Tears into Madinah’s Testimony