KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he had been transparent about the funds deposited into his AmIslamic account and steadfast in maintaining that the money was a donation from the late Saudi King Abdullah for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and political financing.
The former prime minister told the High Court that he had nothing to hide and had informed the then-AmBank Group managing director Cheah Tek Kuang at the first instant as he learned of the donation that he would be receiving.
“I would like to emphasise that I was transparent from the very beginning and immediately informed Mr Cheah about this (incoming donation) when I opened the account, a step I was not obligated to take, especially given that at the time I was a textbook example of what is defined as a politically exposed person.
“I also requested that Mr Cheah inform Bank Negara, which he did, notifying the then-governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz,” Najib said here yesterday.
It was the fifth day that the former Pekan MP was reading from his 525-page witness statement in defence of himself in the RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) graft trial.
The funds, he told the court, were spent in accordance with the trust reposed in him by King Abdullah and he meticulously recorded all his expenditures by issuing cheques from the AmIslamic account to ensure transparency and proper documentation.
“What is even more troubling is the clear evidence demonstrating the complicity of Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi (former 1MDB chief executive officer), Jasmine Loo (former 1MDB general counsel) and others with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho in the misappropriation of billions from 1MDB, which appears to be brushed aside, excused, or conveniently ignored.
“To me, this feels deeply unsettling and personal, as it suggests that their primary role in this case is not to seek the truth but to distort it, provide false testimony and implicate me,” he said.
On Oct 30, Najib was ordered by the High Court to enter his defence on four counts of using his position to obtain RM2.28bil gratification from 1MDB’s funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Monday.
