KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — Bumiputera contractor Nepturis Sdn Bhd had given RM1 million to political party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in 2022 as a “reward” after the company was awarded a RM141 million government project, instead of as a “donation”, a businessman told the High Court today.
Businessman Lian Tan Chuan, who said he owns 30 per cent of Nepturis’ shares through a verbal agreement with Nepturis’ current two Bumiputera shareholders, added that he believed that the company would not have won the contract without Muhyiddin’s support.
Lian said he had asked Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad, whom he had heard was close to and frequently played golf with Muhyiddin, to help get Muhyiddin’s written support for Nepturis’ application for the RM141 million project.
Lian, 55, said this as the 21st prosecution witness in Bersatu president and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s power abuse and money laundering trial.
Today, Lian said Nepturis had on February 1, 2021 applied for the project to build the Klang Utara district police headquarters (IPD), and had on January 12, 2022 won the project, and had on February 16, 2022 issued a RM1 million cheque to Bersatu.
This RM1 million cheque was deposited into Bersatu’s AmBank account on February 21, 2022, based on previous banking evidence shown in this trial.
“If Nepturis Sdn Bhd did not succeed in being awarded this IPD Klang Utara project, I will not make any ‘sumbangan’ (donation) to PPBM. This is the first time Nepturis Sdn Bhd made donations to a political party,” Lian told the High Court.
Lian said the RM1 million was paid to Bersatu upon the request of Malaysia’s Bumiputera contractors’ association president and Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) director Datuk Azman Yusoff.
Lian also voiced his belief that Nepturis had been given the project through the company’s application letter, which he said was supported by Muhyiddin as the PM then and Bersatu president.
“I believe if my company’s application letter was not supported by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and was not processed by the Prime Minister’s Office, my company would certainly not succeed through the Ministry of Finance’s evaluation process and subsequently succeed in being awarded this project by JKR,” he said.
Muhyiddin’s lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik raised an objection over Lian’s remarks on his belief that the project award to Nepturis was due to Muhyiddin’s support and said this should be left for the court to conclude, with the judge then recording down this objection.
Was RM1m to Bersatu a ‘donation’ or ‘reward’?
Asked by lead prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin if he understood what “donation” and “reward” meant, Lian explained that a donation is something given voluntarily “with no strings attached, without getting anything in return” or without asking for anything in return.
“But ‘reward’ is I get something then I reward to that person. That is my definition of ‘reward’ lah,” he said, later also defining a reward as “a kind of token of appreciation for what he or she has done for me”.
When asked by Wan Shaharuddin if Nepturis’ RM1 million to Bersatu was a donation or reward, Lian said: “I think it is a reward.”
Lian said RM1 million is a big sum for Nepturis as it could be used as capital to carry out projects, and that he would not have made the donation to Bersatu if Azman did not ask him to do so.
When asked why he did not pay the RM1 million before the project was awarded, Lian said this was because his agreement with Azman was to make the RM1 million donation to Bersatu after Nepturis gets the project.
While Nepturis had only started receiving payments from the government from April 2022 for the project, Lian told Wan Shaharuddin that he had still paid the RM1 million before receiving any government payments “because we calculated, that project has profits”.
While confirming that the project’s award could be cancelled at any time if Nepturis breaches the contract’s conditions, Lian said he had still paid the RM1 million as he already had an understanding with Azman that the payment had to be made once the company gets the contract.
As of today, Lian said Nepturis had completed 98 per cent of the project and that it is almost done.
About Azman and Adam Radlan
Earlier, Lian said he does not personally know Muhyiddin, and only knew of the latter as a politician.
Lian said he had met with Azman in the latter’s car at Bank Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur in 2020 to ask about government project opportunities for Nepturis, insisting today that the company still has Bumiputera status as his two Bumiputera employees’ 70 per cent ownership exceeds the 51 per cent Bumiputera ownership requirement.
Lian said Azman told him of the government’s Jana Wibawa programme for Bumiputera contractors, and that companies who wish to get projects under Jana Wibawa need to get then-PM Muhyiddin’s support.
Lian said Azman also told him that Adam Radlan is Muhyiddin’s close friend and could help in getting Jana Wibawa projects, adding: “Datuk Azman also told me Adam Radlan frequently plays golf with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and it’s from here that I was confident Adam Radlan could help me to get projects under Jana Wibawa programme.”
After being introduced to Adam Radlan through a meeting arranged by Azman at Publika in December 2020, Lian said Adam Radlan told him of the IPD Klang Utara project and asked him to prepare an application letter in order to get a written minutes of support from Muhyiddin.
Lian said Nepturis director Aliza Abd Malek then prepared five application letters for the same project for Nepturis and four other companies’ names which were “borrowed” with their owners’ knowledge, including Azman’s company Fastcoll Corporation Sdn Bhd.
Lian said he had given these five letters in an envelope to Adam Radlan in a Publika restaurant for him to pass to Muhyiddin.
Lian claimed that Adam Radlan had several days later said Muhyiddin had gave his written minutes of support for Lian’s application letter, but Muhyiddin’s lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad objected to this and said it was hearsay.
After informing Azman of what Adam Radlan said, Lian said Azman had asked him to donate RM1 million directly to Bersatu if Nepturis gets the project as Adam Radlan had asked for then-PM and Bersatu president Muhyiddin’s support, and that he had agreed to Azman’s request.
Lian said he had later informed both Adam Radlan and Azman that Nepturis was awarded the contract, and that Azman had once again asked him to pay RM1 million into Bersatu’s account directly as previously agreed.
After directing Nepturis managing director Mohd Rizman Akum Khan to issue the RM1 million cheque on February 16, 2022, Lian said he had on the same day passed the cheque to Azman at the latter’s office for him to hand it to any Bersatu leader or to deposit it.
Among other things, Lian said he had agreed with Azman’s suggestion to appoint the latter’s company KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd for advice given for the project, saying that he lacked experience for the project which was complicated as it involved technical and safety aspects while Azman was experienced in government tenders.
Lian said Nepturis in a February 23, 2021 letter appointed KCJ as a business development consultant for six months from March 1, 2021, with a consultant fee of RM1 million which was paid to KCJ in stages (RM300,000 through an online bank transfer, and seven cheques of RM100,000).
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues tomorrow.
In this trial, Muhyiddin faces seven charges — four counts of allegedly abusing his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for Bersatu (from Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Azman Yusoff, Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd), and three counts of money laundering involving funds Bersatu allegedly received from Bukhary Equity.
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