A lawyer representing former Felda chairperson Isa Samad in his corruption case, turned the tables on the prosecution today by accusing their witness of shady dealings instead.
During cross-examination, Isa's lawyer Salehuddin Saidin claimed it was former Felda Investment Corp CEO Mohd Zaid Abdul Jalil who pushed for the purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel in Kuching at an inflated price from Gegasan Abadi Properties (GAP).
Zaid had previously said Isa (photo) had instructed him to raise the price for the hotel, which had a market value of RM153 million, to take into account ‘goodwill' due to the hotel's good name and prestige.
He said it was Zaid who received GAP's letter on March 28, 2014, proposing the hotel be sold at RM165 million taking into account the goodwill, despite FIC rejecting a previous offer to buy the hotel when its market price was RM137 million.
"It was you who received the GAP letter on behalf of Isa. You met Isa and explained the letter's contents. The chairperson (Isa) did not read the letter.
"So the ‘goodwill' was your strategy to mark up the hotel's price to RM165 million," said Salehuddin to the witness.
Zaid, however, disagreed with the assertion.
Zaid in his testimony on Wednesday said Isa had eventually instructed the hotel be bought at RM160 million, which was RM7 million above the market price.
Salehuddin asserted that Zaid's claim was fabricated.
"There is no document showing Isa's involvement besides your oral testimony. So it is you who is trying to get him involved. Agree?" he asked.
Zaid replied by sternly saying that he disagreed.
The former FIC chief executive officer appeared to get even more irate when Salehuddin posited that Zaid had frequently changed the version of his testimony because he was lying.
Zaid denied this angrily and complained that he was not given time to explain himself.
After the heated exchange, the court adjourned for the proceedings to be continued on Monday.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ordered that Zaid not meet with any vested parties, including the MACC, until he is re-examined in court next week. - Mkini
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