“Did DPM Zahid ‘truly fly’ to Riyadh now that Bossku has denied knowledge of RM42m ‘Saudi donation’?”

 

UNFAZED Malaysians are quick to shine the spotlight on Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi after Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak conceded in the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday (Jan 22) that the RM42 mil deposited into his personal bank accounts was unrelated to any Saudi donation.

Claiming that this was based on “subsequent knowledge” that he acquired, the incarcerated former premier made the admission under cross-examination by SRC International Sdn Bhd’s counsel Kwan Will Sen in a civil suit brought by the company and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd to recover the sum allegedly misappropriated from company funds.

As if Malaysians are gifted with elephant memory, they remember Zahid who was then in his capacity as DPM under the Najib administration “flew to Saudi and claimed to have met the donor”.

Hilarious as it sounds, such reaction was captured in report headlined Now Najib Tells Court RM42 mil Not ‘Saudi Donation’ on the Free Malaysia Today (FMT) Facebook page.

By his own admission, Zahid who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister under the ruling Madani government had on Aug 22, 2015 claimed that he had flown to Saudi Arabia to meet the wealthy royal Arab family member who donated RM2.6 bil that was channelled into the latter’s personal account.

Thereafter, Zahid was quizzed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in July 2018 – he had then just ascended the UMNO presidency – as part of the on-going probe into the 1MDB scandal.

So who’s telling the truth?

But the mocking could become a tad unbearable for Zahid as netizens insinuated that he had lied with one commenter referring to him as “the person with 47 charges did say that he personally met the Arab donor”.

Editor’s Note: On Jan 8, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) announced that it had decided to accord NFA (No Further Action) on Zahid’s 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering related to funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.

This is despite the High Court already ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case and that Zahid was required to enter his defence.

The 2021 civil suit filed by SRC and Gandingan Mentari seeks a declaration that Najib is liable for the RM42 mil as well as damages for knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, misfeasance in public office and abuse of power.

To recap, the 72-year-old former 10-term Pekan MP has been jailed since Aug 23, 2022 following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 mil in SRC funds. He was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 mil.

However, Federal Territories Pardons Board had subsequently on Jan 29, 2024 halved his imprisonment to six years while his fine was reduced to RM50 mil.

This was before the High Court on Dec 26 last year further sentenced Najib who is popularly identified with his Bossku moniker to 15 years in prison alongside a RM11.38 bil fine following conviction in his 1MDB case with the prison term to follow immediately after he completes his current jail term.

In reaction to the verdict by presiding Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, former de-facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim – in his capacity as an ordinary UMNO member – had expressed disappointment with Zahid and Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said for claiming that “donations from the Saudis were genuine”.

“Zahid even did a press statement about his meeting with key members of the Saudi family to clarify that the money given to Najib was theirs,” penned the opposition-slant Zaid who was Najib’s defence counsel for a short spell in a social media post back then.

“But Justice Colin demolished all that. So Najib stays in Kajang for a long time for telling a lie, and Zahid and Azalina remain as Ministers for the same thing [sic].”

In fact, the post has prompted a commenter to further expose others who once used to vouch for Bossku’s innocence – former attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and even graft buster, the MACC. 

- Focus Malaysia