Voice recording is proof Rosmah meddled in state affairs, says prosecution

 

Rosmah Mansor had dismissed the contents in the audio recording as ‘utter rubbish’. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: The voices in an audio recording, purportedly of a conversation between Rosmah Mansor and her husband Najib Razak over 1MDB matters, draw irresistible inferences that she interfered in government affairs, the prosecution says.

In a written submission filed at the conclusion of the defence case in Rosmah’s corruption trial linked to the RM1.25 billion Sarawak rural schools’ solar energy project, it said the appointment of senior prosecutor Dzulkifli Ahmad as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief in 2016 was an example.

“The accused (Rosmah) also involved herself in matters of foreign affairs,” it said in reference to settling a dispute with the Arabs instead of proceeding to arbitration.

In the submission filed last week sighted by FMT, the prosecution said Rosmah also possessed a domineering personality, a far cry from the diminutive figure she tried to portray.

“The recording is evidence of the accused’s disposition, namely, her propensity to interfere in matters that have nothing to do with her self-asserted role of a dutiful wife,” it said.

During cross-examination in December, Rosmah had dismissed the contents in the recording as “utter rubbish”.

In the prosecution’s opening statement, ad hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram had said that Rosmah, though holding no official position, wielded considerable influence by reason of her overbearing nature.

Sri Ram said she placed herself in a position where she was able to influence decisions in the public sector.

The recording, where Rosmah was heard telling Najib, “Can I advise you something?” with the former prime minister telling his wife that he needed to get into the car first, had been admitted as evidence

The prosecution also said one consequence of Rosmah’s failure to call Najib as a witness “is that all the evidence that she gave of what Najib told her is pure hearsay and inadmissible in evidence”.

“The accused’s decision not to call him (Najib) leaves a serious gap in the defence case,” it said.

It said the testimony of Siti Azizah Sheikh Abod, a former special officer to Najib, only strengthened the prosecution’s case.

The defence, it said, did not get Siti Azizah to testify that the female voice was not that of Rosmah.

“The defence consciously refrained from eliciting this information from her

“Apart from casting a reasonable doubt on the genuineness of P36 (audio recording), it would have cast serious doubt on the evidence of the PW5 and PW 21,” it said, referring to former education minister Mahdzir Khalid and Rosmah’s former aide Rizal Mansor, who positively recognised the voice as that of the accused.

It said Siti Azizah’s attack on Rizal’s credibility was “worthless”.

Rosmah, 70, is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin, through Rizal, as an inducement to help the company secure the solar project for rural schools in Sarawak.

She is also accused of receiving bribes amounting to RM5 million from Saidi, through Rizal, at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on Dec 20, 2016.

Rosmah is said to have received another RM1.5 million from Saidi at Jalan Langgak Duta here on Sept 7, 2017. - FMT