The Malaysian Insight

THE original 1MDB audit report never made it before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after former prime minister Najib Razak promised that he would “get to the bottom” of the discrepancies, former auditor-general Ambrin Buang said today.

The 70-year-old prosecution witness told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he agreed to changes to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd audit report after meeting Najib on February 22, 2016.

Also present at the meeting were then chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa and Najib’s principal private secretary Shukry Mohd Salleh.

Najib, who was then also finance minister, took issue with the fact that the audit reported there were two financial statements for 1MDB for 2014, the court heard.

“The implication of dropping facts from the 1MDB audit report was very serious but they were dropped to fulfill a request by Datuk Seri Najib, with the guarantee that he would ‘get to the bottom of this.’

“As the auditor-general then, and as a public servant, I saw Datuk Seri Najib’s request, which was made in his capacity as prime minister, to be something to be followed without suspicions.

“In fact there were follow up meetings that confirmed that an action plan would be carried out by the authorities to investigate the matters raised in the audit report,” Ambrin testified.

Najib is accused of using his position to remove parts of the final 1MDB audit report between February 22 and 26, 2016 at the Prime Minister’s Department, before it was tabled to the Public Accounts Committee, to protect himself from criminal action.

Former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy is on trial for abetting Najib. Both accused sat in the dock today.

Ambrin confirmed another meeting was held February 24, 2016, attended by nine officials including himself, Arul Kanda, Ali, Ali’s senior private secretary Norazman Ayub, Saadatul Nafisah, Attorney-General’s Chambers representative Dzulkifli Ahmad, Treasury representatives Mohamad Isa Hussain and Asri Hamdin, and Shukry.

It was this meeting that National Audit Department director director Nor Salwani Muhammad secretly recorded.

Ambrin confirmed it was he who ordered for the for the destruction of all the original copies of the 1MDB audit report, save for one saved by Salwani.

He told the court he was authorised under the Official Secrets Act to do so, and that the single copy was for internal use.

Ambrin was also questioned by deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram on Salwani’s audio recording. Ambrin said the February 24 meeting did not have space for Salwani to sit in.

Ambrin: As a coordinator, her job was to take down notes of the discussions, because that meeting discussed very important issues. There was a standing instruction that she has to follow.

Sri Ram: When she placed the audio recording in the pencil case, would you describe it as a breach of conduct?

Ambrin: No, because to me if she had been able to attend the meeting, she wouldn’t have to record it. Also it was for internal use.

On the February 22 meeting, Ambrin said Najib had wanted to know about the status of the reports, particularly the different financial statements for 2014.

Ambrin: I alerted him (Najib) about the issue of the different versions of financial statements and he gave me the assurance that he would get to the bottom of it.

Sri Ram: To your knowledge, did the accused, Najib, get to the bottom of it?

Ambrin: I wouldn’t know at that stage, because there were supposed to be subsequent meetings over this matter.

Sri Ram: When he said, ‘I would get to the bottom of it’, did you believe him?

Ambrin: It is his assurance.

Sri Ram: In your presence, did he give any instructions?

Ambrin: Not that I remember.

At the February 24 meeting, Ambrin said there were discussions of lodging a police report.

Sri Ram: You gave evidence that it was Ali Hamsa who instructed someone from the Treasury to lodge a police report. Where you satisfied with that instruction?

Ambrin: At that particular time, yes.

Sri Ram: Later, much later, did you discover whether a police report had, in fact, been lodged?

Ambrin: I asked my staff at the Treasury to check. The answer was no.

Sri Ram: How did you feel about this?

Ambrin: I felt cheated, because I was given the assurance that action would be taken. And this was agreed upon, that I would drop this version of the audit report if action was taken.

Ambrin also confirmed that the original 1MDB audit report was prepared following the exit conference (final meeting between auditor and 1MDB to discuss the former’s findings and recommendations) in December 2015.

Asked by Sri Ram what would have happened if the February 22 and 24 meetings had not taken place, Ambrin replied that the original 1MDB report would have been presented to the PAC by March 2016.

The altered 1MDB audit report was presented to the PAC from March 4 to 7, 2016.

The trial resumes tomorrow before judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan. – November 27, 2019.