The Malaysian Insight

NAJIB Razak did not lodge a police report in 2015 regarding irregularities in his Ambank accounts as he did not want to be seen to be intervening in ongoing investigations at the time, the high court heard today.

The former prime minister told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he believed that former chief executive of Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) Ung Su Ling was conspiring with Low Taek Jho to manipulate his accounts, after meeting Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd managing director Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman in July 2015.

Shamsul was then just remanded and questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)  over reports published on July 2, 2015 by Sarawak Report and the Wall Street Journal, which alleged that RM42 million of SRC International’s funds had made its way into Najib’s personal bank accounts. 

Bank Negara, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police were also carrying out investigations then.

“I did not lodge a report, or make a general statement, or take any action because I did not want to be seen as intervening or attempting to intervene into the investigations carried out by enforcement authorities. I was awaiting the results of the investigations,” Najib said when examined by defence counsel Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed at the SRC International trial today.

“I was made to understand that I would need to have my statement taken by the MACC sometime in December 2015 anyway. Ultimately, due to my non-involvement or non-knowledge of the matters (being investigated), I chose not to intervene because I believed the truth will emerge.”

Najib said he was also cleared of any wrongdoing by the then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali in 2016. Apandi’s statement, read out by Najib, stated:

1. There is no evidence to show that YAB PM (prime minister) has abused his position during the cabinet meeting which approved the government guarantee on the RM4 billion loan to SRC International from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP);
2. Evidence also shows that the loan approval process by KWAP and the loan guarantee approval by the cabinet were properly done;
3. There is no evidence to show that YAB PM had solicited or was promised any gratification from any party either before, during or after the cabinet decision was made;
4. The evidence as a whole does not disclose any conflict of interest on the part of YAB PM; and
5. The MACC itself admitted that based on their investigation, there is no evidence from the witnesses that could show that the prime minister had committed any act of corrupt practice.

Ad hoc deputy public prosecutor V. Sithambaram then objected to the document being tendered as evidence, saying it was based on a media report, the veracity of which was not yet confirmed.

The defence responded by telling the court that it would call Apandi to the stand to confirm the statement.

Meanwhile, Najib also spoke of why he closed his remaining three accounts with AmBank by 2015.

Wan Aizuddin: What caused you to close the accounts (ending with) 880, 898 and 906 on March, 2015?

Najib: Around March, 2015. I was informed by Azlin Alias that the contributions and funds in the new accounts were nearly exhausted. Seeing that donations were no longer expected to come, I decided to close the accounts.

Azlin handed the closure forms to me to sign and I did so and returned the unused cheques to him.

Wan Aizuddin: How did you know that no more funds are to be expected?

Najib: King Abdullah passed away on January 23, 2015, and seeing that the arrangement for the donations was a private matter between King Abdullah and myself, I figured it would end there.

The trial before justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali continues. – December 9, 2019.