ROSMAH TRIAL | Rosmah Mansor had personally urged the then-Education Ministry secretary-general, Madinah Mohamad, to "look into" and "expedite" the award of a solar project in Sarawak, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur was told today.
During the examination-in-chief, Madinah (above) said the incident happened sometime in the first half of 2016, after a Permata Negara event in Putrajaya attended by Rosmah.
"After the event wrapped up, Rosmah walked to her car. I was trailing behind her, along with a group of VVIPs.
"(Once in the car), Rosmah wound down the window and gestured at me. She told me, to the effect of, 'You look into the solar project. Expedite it.'
"I replied 'God willing'," she testified.
Madinah said she was approached by Rosmah's aide Rizal Mansor at the same event.
"Rizal asked me to look into the solar project. I replied 'Okay, okay'," said Madinah, who was reading from a witness statement.
She was a key figure in the Education Ministry's decision to award the RM1.25 billion project to little-known Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd in 2016.
So far, the trial has established that Jepak Holdings was lobbying for a contract to install a solar-diesel hybrid system to provide electricity to 369 schools in Sarawak.
Mahdzir Khalid, the education minister at the time, previously testified that he greenlit the project on then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's insistence. Mahdzir then instructed Madinah to prepare the paperwork.
Rosmah (above) is on trial for soliciting and accepting bribes from Jepak Holdings and its agents.
Madinah testified that Rosmah's request was unusual because she had never talked to her about government contracts before.
She said Rosmah did make some requests for the Permata programme, but those were usually through proper channels.
"The solar project is the only government project which (I've seen) Rosmah showed interest in, through her request that I 'look into' and 'expedite' it.
"I understood it as Rosmah was seeking my assistance as Education Ministry secretary-general to award the project to Jepak Holdings," she said.
As the prime minister's wife, Rosmah, according to Madinah, could influence her husband.
"If I did not take action, Rosmah might complain to the prime minister. As a civil servant, complaints to the prime minister is very serious...
"Although Rosmah's request created a sense of urgency, I did not take any follow-up action which violated government processes," she said.
Following this, Madinah said she received several text messages from Rizal, enquiring about the status of the project on behalf of "ma'am". Madinah testified "ma'am" referred to Rosmah.
Madinah said she had informed Rizal that the Education Ministry had to follow procedures. - Mkini
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