Witness: ‘Made to resign by Zahid, I didn’t even pen own resignation letter’

ZAHID TRIAL | Former Yayasan Akalbudi director Zulkifli Senteri has testified he was ordered to resign by Umno chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (above) in 2012 without being informed the reason.

Testifying at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in the criminal trial of Ahmad Zahid, the witness claimed he did not even pen his own resignation letter.

Instead, he told the court the accused’s driver delivered the resignation letter to him at Bandar Baru Bangi. Upon signing the letter, it was immediately handed back to the driver.

At the time, Ahmad Zahid had been deputy prime minister and a trustee of Yayasan Akalbudi, a charity foundation Ahmad Zahid also founded.

“I was not informed the reason I had to resign.

“I only accepted the order as, in my opinion, I had no involvement in and direct knowledge of the running and activities of Yayasan Akalbudi,” Zulkifli, who is the seventh prosecution witness, claimed.

He made the testimony when reading out his witness statement in front of Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.

Sleeping director

The Binary University deputy vice-chancellor (academic) informed the court he agreed to be appointed Yayasan Akalbudi director after being offered the role by the accused following a meeting at the latter’s home in Country Heights, Kajang, in 1997.

Even so, Zulkifli alleged he was not informed of his role as director, nor even the foundation’s function and role.

He further alleged he did not even know the location of the foundation’s office as he was never invited there for a meeting.

In fact, the court heard that since his appointment till the time he stepped down in 2012, he was not involved in any meeting or activity, and did not receive any form of allowance or payment.

He also claimed to have never held any annual meetings, discussed foundation activities and spending with Ahmad Zahid, nor was he referred to any of its financial statement or statement of accounts.

In return, he alleged Ahmad Zahid had never informed him of the source of the foundation’s funds.

As such, Zulkifli stressed in his statement that he never signed any documents concerning Yayasan Akalbudi, including those “related to administration and operations”, finances and cheques.

“As long as I was director, I did not know if Yayasan Akalbudi accounts had been audited or not.

“... I did not know that Yayasan Akalbudi had funds in the millions of ringgit,” he said according to his witness statement.

Conflicting statements

Upon reading his statement, deputy public prosecutor Lee Keng Fatt ask Zulkifli to identify an application form for the opening of a Yayasan Akalbudi account.

Lee: Do you recognise this... have you seen this before?

Zulkifli: I am not sure. But my signature is there.

Lee: Can you confirm if this is your signature?

Zulkifli: Correct, that is my signature (indicating the location of the signature on the form).

Lee: Do you remember when you signed?

Zulkifli: Don’t remember.

In the cross-examination, Ahmad Zahid’s defence counsel Ahmad Zaidi Zainal claimed there were contradictions in Zulkifli’s witness statement.

Ahmad Zaidi pointed to one paragraph of the statement in which Zulkifli had alleged he was not informed of Yayasan Akalbudi’s “function and role”.

However, in the next paragraph, the latter had claimed he accepted the role of director as he was informed by the accused that the foundation was founded “to help the welfare of the people of Bagan Datuk”.

Zaidi: My question, when I read paragraph six, it contradicts with the last sentence in paragraph five, as Dr Zul (Zulkifli) you said you were not informed of the foundation’s function and role, yet after that, Dr Zul admits knowing the foundation’s function and role.

Zulkifli: Yes.

Zaidi: A slight contradiction?

Zulkifli: Correct

Zaidi also said Zulkifli claimed to have sighted the foundation’s Memorandum and Articles of Association (MMA), which the lawyer pointed out contained Yayasan Akalbudi’s objectives.

The defence counsel also raised the claim that certain paragraphs of Zulkifli’s witness statement read almost word-for-word similar with the witness statement of the fourth witness Mohd Samsuri Tun.

However, prior to that, Zaidi had established that Zulkifli’s statement had been prepared after his interview with the MACC, and that he had never met Samsuri prior to the preparation of the witness statement.

Samsuri, also a former foundation director, had testified on Tuesday. He, too, was made to resign in 2012, on the same day as Zulkifli.

Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges, including 12 counts of criminal breach of trust, eight counts of receiving gratification, and 27 counts of money laundering involving Yayasan Akalbudi's funds.

All the charges were made under Section 409 of the Penal Code (for criminal breach of trust); Section 16(1)(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2019 (bribery); and Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amlatfapua). - Mkini