The Malaysian Insight

THE 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) directors were misled when they gave approvals for transactions for the state-owned investment firm, a former director said. 

Ismee Ismail said the directors did play their part to try to protect the interest of the company with discussions done on the economics and viability of the company’s transactions.

However, after revelations from when 1MDB investigations started and throughout the course of the 1MDB trials, he said the board realised they were being “used”. 

“After going through all these, my assumption now is that the board was used to make all the (1MDB) initiatives and transactions appear legitimate. 

“This is to the extent that misleading information or worse still, no information was given to the board or information was concealed from them,” he said. 

The 13th prosecution witness told the Kuala Lumpur High Court when questioned by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram.

However, Ismee did not state who had “used” the 1MDB board members.

“What is your position on the suggestion that the 1MDB board was actually a bunch of toothless tigers who failed to protect and advise the prime minister?” asked Sri Ram.

Ismee then went on a lengthy explanation that the board had always made a collective decision despite various views on numerous subjects.

This included projects and even people, such as the involvement of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low.

Ismee gave an example on the government-to-government deal with Abu Dhabi where he said Low had proved that he had a good relationship with the Arabs.

He said the board made an effort to ensure the guarantee was “airtight” and “fulfilling Najib’s dreams”.

Sri Ram: Were you in a position, as a board member, to say no to the prime minister?

Ismee: I guess if the board says no to the wishes of the prime minister, then we just have to leave as board members.

The witness, like former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman and former 1MDB chief financial officer Azmi Tahir, said he did not receive a single sen from 1MDB’s irregular payments.

Najib, 68, is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering more than RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited in his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

The Pekan MP faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The trial will resume next month before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah. – November 18, 2021.