Rosmah put the squeeze on project approval.
9.54am: Accused Rosmah Mansor enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery.
Also seen in court are her defence counsel Azrul Zulkifli Stork, Jagjit Singh, Akberdin Abdul Kader and other members of her defence team, as well as DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib and other DPPs.
10.06am: Rosmah is seen sitting in the dock as proceedings begin.
10.08am: Fourth prosecution witness Shamsul Rizal Sharbini takes the stand for examination-in-chief by DPP Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam.
He was the driver for the former managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, Saidi Abang Samsudin.
10.30am: Shamsul testifies that sometime in late 2016, he had taken his boss and a friend to a Maybank branch in Kuala Lumpur where both of them later took out two luggage that seemed heavy.
According to Shamsul, the bags were purchased on the same day from a shop in Pertama Complex and taken to the bank. They seemed to be empty when taken to the bank.
He says that after Saidi and his friend, identified as Razak, put the luggage in the vehicle’s luggage compartment, they sat inside the vehicle. This was when a man who had a firearm entered the vehicle and sat with them.
However, none of the three including Saidi knew who this man was.
Shamsul tells the court that Saidi then ordered him to drive to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, a shopping centre in Bukit Bintang, and they stopped at the lobby of a building near the mall. This was about noon.
This was where he saw Rizal Mansor, who is a former aide to Rosmah Mansor.
“Saidi told me to take out both the luggage from the vehicle’s luggage compartment. I had taken them out one by one and put them inside the building.
“I had to carry the luggage one by one as each of them was quite heavy and I could not take them both at one go.
“After that, I saw Rizal Mansor standing in the lobby,” he says.
Shamsul says he did not see what happened next as he went to park the vehicle, and when he was summoned to pick up Saidi and Razak again not long after that, he went to the lobby and stopped behind a Toyota Vellfire.
There, he saw that the two luggage had already been in the luggage compartment of the Vellfire. However, Shamsul says he does not remember the plate number nor saw who put the luggage in the Vellfire.
10.45am: The High Court orders former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to leave the court where his wife is on trial.
Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan issues the order following DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib raising objection to Najib’s presence in the public gallery.
“I am sorry, but I have to ask you (Najib) to excuse yourself (from court),” Zaini addresses Najib who was in the public gallery.
Najib then replies “Okay” and calmly gets up and leaves the court.
Earlier, Akram objects to Najib’s presence as he is a potential witness in Rosmah’s trial.
“In this case, Najib’ statement was recorded. He is a potential witness,” Akram tells the court.
However, Rosmah’s lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader says that Najib was also here for Rosmah’s trial yesterday.
Zaini then remarks that he did not notice yesterday, and then orders Najib to leave.
10.59am: Shamsul finishes reading out from his witness statement and signs the document.
DPP Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam then asks additional questions to the witness as part of his examination-in-chief.
11.07am: Rosmah’s defence counsel Jagjit Singh objects to the prosecution’s line of questioning of a witness, likening it to “trial by ambush”.
Jagjit raises the objection when Mustaffa is asking Shamsul additional questions in examination-in-chief.
Mustaffa is asking Shamsul about the two bags that were allegedly bought by Saidi.
Shamsul had told the court earlier that the bags were bought and then brought to a Maybank branch, among others.
“This (disputed issue raised by Mustaffa) is not in the (Shamsul) witness statement. This is trial by ambush. (It) Should not be,” Jagjit argues.
“The purpose of additional questions is to clarify any point or error.
“My client is caught by trial by ambush. It is about time your lordship put your foot down,” Jagjit says.
Lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram then tells the animated Jagjit to “not get excited”, eliciting chuckles from the public gallery.
Zaini says that Mustaffa’s questions are merely on asking Shamsul where he was taken by MACC, among others.
Zaini then overrules the objection and directs Mustaffa to continue.
11.15am: The defence team takes over examining Shamsul.
Akberdin starts his cross-examination by questioning the validity of Shamsul’s claim that he had worked for Saidi as a driver.
This includes querying Shamsul if he has any employment agreement to show the court, or any proof that Saidi had contributed to his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (Socso) payments.
Akberdin: You have given a lengthy explanation on your employment history, and that you were the driver for Saidi.
Is there any proof to show that you were his driver? Is there any employment agreement?
Shamsul: No. I don’t have it now.
Akberdin: And you haven’t shown any proof in court that Saidi contributed to your EPF and Socso?
Shamsul: No.
11.48am: The prosecution and defence got into sparring verbally over a “misleading question” remark.
Jagjit objects to a statement by Mustaffa that the defence was asking a “misleading question”.
The remark comes when Akberdin questions the veracity of Shamsul over the colour of bags.
Earlier, Shamsul had testified that he put the two black bags on a green sofa in a house at Langgak Duta.
Akberdin is questioning Shamsul over an alleged contradiction in the witness’ statement when he used the word “orange” instead of black for the two bags.
Shamsul then replies that the bags were mostly black with a bit of orange colour.
Mustaffa then stands up and says the witness had said black and tells the court that the question by the defence is a “misleading question”.
Jagjit then counters that Akberdin’s question was not misleading, and says, “Listen to your boss”, while indicating to lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram who had earlier told Jagjit to “not get excited”.
The situation pipes down and Akberdin resumes his cross-examination of Shamsul.
12.15pm: Proceedings adjourn for a short break, following Shamsul having wrapped up his testimony and released from the witness stand.
12.35pm: Court resumes with the fifth prosecution witness, former education minister Mahdzir Khalid, taking the witness stand.
12.50pm: The court hears from Mahdzir that Saidi had met him in 2015, where they discussed the company’s plan to introduce a solar hybrid system to produce electricity for 369 schools in Sarawak.
According to Mahdzir, it appeared to him that Saidi was planning to take over the existing diesel generator-set electricity system for the schools, which were being operated by multiple contractors.
Mahdzir said he had rejected Jepak’s suggestion then as the Education Ministry still had ongoing contracts with the contractors, besides having doubt of Jepak Holdings’ capability to handle the big project.
However, in December 2015, the minister received a letter that had been minuted by the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, whom Mahdzir said ordered him to carry out Jepak Holdings’ plan.
The minute was written on a letter from Jepak Holdings to Najib dated Nov 23, 2015, saying: “Agree to carry out the new system and cancel the old system”.
1.07pm: Saidi pleaded as an “old friend” for Mahdzir to ensure the solar hybrid project is awarded to the company, the High Court hears.
Mahdzir is testifying while being shown by Idham photograph exhibits of WhatsApp messages between the witness and Saidi.
Idham: Can I show you the text message between Datuk (Mahdzir) and Saidi, where you said Saidi asked for your help to be awarded the project?
Mahdzir: Among what I can say, among the messages are, “YB, I am still in KL. Please, urgent. Help me, old friend, approve the solar hybrid project”.
1.25pm: Mahdzir says that in May 2016, he had approved several suggestions by the Education Ministry’s technical committee in regard to a solar hybrid project for schools in Sarawak.
These suggestions include subjecting Jepak Holdings to several conditions that it needed to fulfil before the project is awarded to the company and that the contract would be for an initial pilot project.
According to Mahdzir, he agreed to these suggestions because the conditions would test the capability of Jepak Holdings in fulfilling the contract, among others.
However, not long after he approved the suggestions, Mahdzir said he received a phone call from Rizal Mansor, who was then an aide to Rosmah Mansor.
Mahdzir says that Rizal had questioned him why he decided to give Jepak Holdings a pilot project when Najib had ordered for the solar hybrid project to replace the existing electric generating system for the schools.
“He also questioned the decision to end contracts for schools which would be connected to a power grid,” Mahdzir testifies.
The former minister says that he then told Rizal that the decision was made by the ministry’s technical committee, and he only approves them.
1.30pm: The court hears from Mahdzir that his decision not to follow Najib’s orders regarding the solar hybrid project for schools in Sarawak in 2016 had also irked Jepak Holdings.
He says that not long after he approved education ministry’s suggestions to only give the company a pilot project for the initiative, Saidi and his partner Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah had met him to air their dissatisfaction.
Mahdzir claims that Saidi and Rayyan had told him that they would bring the matter to the prime minister.
Rayyan had also allegedly gone as far as warning Mahdzir that he “won’t be long” at the education ministry for not following Najib’s orders.
Mahdzir says that in June 2016, he received another order from Najib, which was in the form of a minute telling Mahdzir to carry out the solar hybrid project as he had been ordered to before.
1.47pm: Mahdzir testifies that Rosmah asked him to speed up the solar hybrid project.
Mahdzir says that from what he understood from the message she gave him, that she was asking to speed up the project, and he says this strengthens his belief that she was “Team Saidi”.
“I felt that as Rosmah was the wife of the prime minister (Najib) and with authority, she wanted the project to be sped up,” Mahdzir says.
Mahdzir refers him meeting Rosmah after a breaking fast event at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Kompleks Seri Perdana, Putrajaya, on June 23, 2016.
“While I was greeting her before heading back, he told me more or less ‘You tengok la projek solar Cikgu Aazmey. Cepatkan sikit.
“I only answered ‘Ya ya’ as there were many people at the time,” Mahdzir says.
He says that he knew then that Cikgu Aazmey referred to Aazmey, Pekan Umno secretary and former Pahang state education director.
Mahdzir also says he knew then that Aazmey was part of Team Saidi and involved in Saidi’s efforts to obtain the solar hybrid project from the Education Ministry.
2.04pm: Proceedings adjourn for the day and resumes on Monday.
Earlier reports:
Feb 6, Driver Delivered Bags of Cash to Rosmah’s House
Feb 6, Rosmah Allegedly Pressured Ex-Minister to Award Project to Jepak
Feb 5, Rosmah’s Bribe Trial: Day One
Feb 5, Rosmah’s Lawyer Cries Intimidation over MACC’s Probe of Doctor Who Issued MC
Feb 5, RM6M Bribe in RM100 Bills
Feb 5, Rosmah’s Controversial FLOM Division Rebranded After Public Criticism
Feb 5, DPP: Overbearing Rosmah Wielded Considerable Influence