DAY 12 | Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, will today be facing the 12th day of her corruption trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
She is facing three charges pertaining to the alleged misappropriation of funds for the supply and installation of solar energy at 369 rural schools in Sarawak for the Education Ministry.
The RM1.25 billion project was awarded to Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd through direct negotiation.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Trial to resume tomorrow with ex-Education Ministry chief sec set to testify
- Bank allowed withdrawals despite different signatures - witness
- Witness testifies that then education minister personally wrote to Najib
- Najib granted procurement rules exemption for solar project - witness
- 'Finance Ministry rejected RM130m advance payment to Jepak'
- I was ordered to act immediately by Education Ministry chief sec - witness
- High Court hears that Jepak requested PM to approve RM130m advance
- Jepak failed to meet Finance Ministry's requirements - witness
- Businessperson Ahmed Farriq recalled to identify 'Lawrence'
Thank you for following Malaysiakini's live report
4pm - Thank you for following our live report today.
Trial to resume tomorrow with ex-Education Ministry chief sec set to testify
3.30pm - The trial is adjourned to tomorrow. Former Education Ministry chief secretary Alias Ahmad is expected to testify tomorrow.
Rosmah is seen entering the gallery at the adjacent court where her husband Najib Abdul Razak is on trial for SRC International related offences.
Bank allowed withdrawals despite different signatures - witness
3pm - Maybank assistant manager Low Ai Leen testifies that Jepak Holding managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin had opened a Maybank account at the Medan Tuanku branch on March 27, 2009.
The account was still active as of July 2018 with a balance RM416.26
She confirms that at the start of December 2016, Saidi's account had RM626 thousand in balance.
On Dec 20 that year she says, there was a RM6 million deposit. RM5 million was withdrawn that same day via cheque.
On Sept 30, 2017, a further RM1.5 million was withdrawn from the bank.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Azrul Zulkifli Stork questions Low whether the signatures on two withdrawal cheques were different from the signature used when Saidi was opening his account.
She replied that it was, and agreed with Azrul that Maybank's normal procedure was not to approve transactions without matching signatures.
During re-examination, the deputy public prosecutor, however, sought to show that many years had passed between the signatures.
Low told the court that the signature on account opening form was from 2009, while the cheques were signed on 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Court resumes after lunch break
2.33pm - Court is back in session. Eleventh witness, Maybank assistant manager Low Ai Leen takes the stand.
12.40pm - Court breaks for lunch.
Witness testifies that then education minister personally wrote to Najib
12.30pm - During cross-examination by the defence, Former Education Ministry asset acquisition and management department secretary Kamarudin Abdullah claims that then education minister Mahdzir Khalid's (photo, below) letter to then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on July 19, 2017, was written by the minister himself.
"The minister wrote this letter himself, it did not go through me," he says.
The remark elicited hushed oohs from the gallery.
Earlier, he said it was Mahdzir who instructed him to remove a clause from the letter of award (LoA) to Jepak Holdings that would allow the government to terminate works and make deductions from any unfinished works.
However, he said anything not stated in the LoA could be added in the contract later.
Later, during re-examination by the deputy public prosecutor, Kamarudin was again asked about the July 19 letter.
He testifies that the minister had never called him to discuss the letter or ask for any pertinent information.
Instead, Kamarudin claims he only later received a copy of the letter.
Asked how the minister obtained the necessary information, he replies: "I believe through his special officer".
Proceedings resume after break
11.40am - Court is back in session.
11.14 am - Court breaks for a brief recess.
Najib granted procurement rules exemption for solar project - witness
11am - Former Education Ministry asset acquisition and management department secretary Kamarudin Abdullah testifies that on July 19, 2017, then education minister Mahdzir Khalid had asked then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to grant an exemption from procurement regulations for implementation works on the solar panel project.
Najib had in minutes, informed then treasury deputy secretary-general Othman Semail that the exemption is granted.
'Finance Ministry rejected RM130m advance payment to Jepak'
10.35am - Former Education Ministry asset acquisition and management department secretary Kamarudin Abdullah testifies that the Finance Ministry on May 4, 2017, sent a letter to Alias rejecting the RM130 million advance.
This is as regulations state that advance payments can only amount to 25 percent or RM10 million, whichever is highest.
Alias then sends another letter to the Finance Ministry's government procurements department, seeking approval for a RM10 million advance, guaranteed by Archipelago Insurance Limited.
Alias receives a reply five days later that the Finance Ministry is maintaining its decision that the Education Ministry must adhere to all regulations before an advance is paid out.
I was ordered to act immediately by Education Ministry chief sec - witness
10.25am - Kamarudin testifies that on April 25, 2017, then Education Ministry chief secretary Alias Ahmad had contacted him via WhatsApp.
Alias had sent to him a letter from Jepak to the Prime Minister dated April 21 that year.
The former Education Ministry asset acquisition and management department secretary said he was ordered to act upon the minute annotated by the prime minister on the Jepak letter.
The prime minister's minutes read: "YBhg Datuk Sri Alias. This request is approved. Please issue the advance immediately."
Kamarudin said he took screenshots of the WhatsApp conversation and printed it and the Jepak letter for record-keeping.
High Court hears that Jepak requested PM to approve RM130m advance
10.20am - Kamarudin testifies that the Prime Minister's Department (PMD) had sent a letter to Education Ministry chief secretary Alias Ahmad on April 19, 2017.
The PMD letter is to forward another letter from Jepak to the prime minister.
In the letter, Jepak asks the prime minister, in his capacity as finance minister, to approve the RM130 million advance.
Jepak also asked the prime minister to order Alias to pay out the advance without any delay.
The PMD letter is annotated with a minute from the prime minister, which reads "YBhg Datuk Sri Alias. Please sign this contract immediately".
Jepak failed to meet Finance Ministry's requirements - witness
10. 15am - The tenth witness, former Education Ministry asset acquisition and management department secretary Kamarudin Abdullah is back in the stand.
He resumes reading his witness statement.
Kamarudin testifies that Jepak Holdings had failed to meet the Finance Ministry's requirements to secure a RM130 million advance for the solar panel project.
This is noted in a letter from the Finance Ministry, replying to former Education Ministry chief secretary Alias Ahmad who asked for the advance.
The Finance Ministry letter noted that Jepak had presented to the Finance Ministry an insurance guarantee from one Archipelago Insurance Limited, which was not licensed under the Financial Services Act.
Archipelago it said, was only licensed by the Labuan Financial Services Authority.
The Finance Ministry said that in order to speed up the payment process, the Education Ministry should adhere to existing financial regulations and sign the procurement contract with Jepak soon.
Businessperson Ahmed Farriq recalled to identify 'Lawrence'
10.08am - Businessperson Ahmed Farriq Zainul Abidin is recalled to identify an individual known to him as Lawrence, who was absent yesterday.
Lawrence comes through the witness door and is identified.
Defence counsel Azrul Zulkifli Stork takes the opportunity to ask further questions.
He asks Ahmad Farriq if he knew who the two butlers who took two bags from Rizal Mansor's car and into Seri Perdana, were.
The witness replies in the negative.
Azrul then asks then that Ahmad Farriqwould not know what the butlers did with the bags, which the witness concurs.
DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib then asks Ahmad Farriq if there are any other residences within Seri Perdana.
Ahmad Farriq replies that he doesn't know
Proceedings begin
10.02am - High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan enters the court and proceedings begin.
9.50am - The accused, Rosmah Mansor enters the witness dock.
She asks one of her aides for a mask, which is then placed by her side.
The ninth prosecution witness Ahmed Farriq Zainul Abidin, a businessperson, enters the witness stand.
Former Education Ministry asset acquisition and management department secretary Kamarudin Abdullah will continue reading from his witness statement today before being questioned by lawyers.
The 10th witness had testified yesterday that he was instructed to write a letter to the chief secretary of the Treasury to apply for Jepak Holdings to take over the maintenance and operation of diesel gen-sets in rural Sarawak schools.
He had also received instructions from former education minister Mahdzir Khalid to amend the letter of award (LOA) to Jepak Holdings to remove "Clause 11".
Clause 11 refers to a right to the government to terminate the contract anytime in between.
Earlier yesterday, businessperson Razak Othman testified that he did not know exactly how much money he and his business partner, Jepak Holding managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin, had packed into two bags that were to be delivered to a person identified as "RM".
Another witness, who saw the bags being delivered to Seri Perdana, said he did not know that they contained money. - Mkini
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