SINGAPORE (Dec 9): On Dec 3, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Abdul Razak took the stand as the first witness in his trial for seven counts of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money-laundering of RM42 million from SRC International, a subsidiary of the beleaguered 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
For the first time in the country’s history, a former premier is in the docks and giving sworn testimony in his defence. Najib is on trial for what is believed to be the biggest and most wide-ranging graft scandal in recent years.
In a packed courtroom, Najib read out a 243-page sworn statement in Malay, in a question-and-answer format with more than 300 questions.
He began his sworn testimony by detailing his decades-long political career, which began when he was 21. Following that, he explained that he had little to nothing to do with the formation or inner workings of SRC.
He also said he was unaware of SRC’s initial plan to apply for a RM3.95 billion loan from Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) in 2011. It was previously revealed in court that a letter dated June 3, 2011 to ask for a loan, addressed to Najib, who was also the finance minister then, was signed by SRC director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.
Najib also denied ever having any personal interest in SRC. “I strongly reaffirm that I have no personal interests in SRC, except for my professional interests as a prime minister and finance minister, and my public duty to act in the best interests of the Malaysian government.” He went on to deny that the joint venture (JV) that SRC had entered into with Aabar Investments PJS was “endorsed” by him, as claimed by Nik Faisal.
“In minutes from a meeting with the [SRC] board of directors, Nik Faisal had represented to them that the KWAP loan had been ‘smoothened’ by the Economic Planning Unit and the Finance Ministry as preparation for the JV between Aabar and SRC. Is this true?” Najib said. “Not at all.”
He again denied that the JV was a government-to-government initiative. The JV was to have made a US$45.5 million investment in the coal industry in Mongolia. It was revealed during the trial that the investment had been approved without a feasibility study.
In his testimony, Najib also denied having any knowledge of the transfer made to his personal bank accounts in AmBank. He denied giving instructions on the transfer of RM42 million of SRC funds from Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd (IPSB) to his AmBank account. “I cannot explain how the funds were transferred… I only knew of these transactions around July 2015 when the Sarawak Report sensationalised the issue.”
He claimed he was not told about the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) ‘red flags’ on the accounts as a result of RM12 million of transfers that Low Taek Jho — the fugitive businessman and alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB saga — had done over time. Najib said he was not aware of these AMLA alerts.
“I could not have allowed this to happen. I was at the time the prime minister and a well-known political figure in the country. If the news came out that the accounts registered under my name had been flagged by Bank Negara Malaysia [the central bank] because of a transfer of RM12 million, it would definitely be used by the Opposition as an attempt to tarnish my reputation,” he said. “It would have been an indirect accusation of corruption. I would not let my accounts be flagged by BNM. I humbly ask the court to see this [as] irrational behaviour… I had no knowledge of this.”
In addition to the SRC trial, Najib has also been charged with four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB. The 1MDB trial began on Aug 28 and is still ongoing.
