PUTRAJAYA: It is “ridiculous” to suggest that China was solving issues related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) debt crisis, Datuk Seri Najib Razak tells the High Court.
The former prime minister said he had sent his former special officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin to China in June 2016 to scout possible infrastructure projects and it was not a “secret mission” to bail out the debt-laden sovereign wealth fund.
“What is the mechanism (to bail out 1MDB)? They (China) make infrastructure, we pay them. How do they pay our debt?
“To me, it’s a ridiculous scheme,” he said at the RM2.28bil 1MDB trial that convened here yesterday.
During cross-examination, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib had suggested that Amhari’s trip to China was sanctioned by Najib in a “desperate” attempt to get China’s support in solving 1MDB’s debt crisis.
DPP Ahmad Akram: Do you agree that whatever he (Amhari) said to the Chinese officials then was upon your instructions?
Najib: No, I disagree.
DPP Ahmad Akram: Whatever he (Amhari) said (to the Chinese) was to solve 1MDB’s issues.
Najib: But how could China resolve 1MDB’s issues? He was dealing with state-owned enterprises.
The prosecution then moved to question Najib about Amhari’s trip to Abu Dhabi, which took place after China.
Najib said he had sent Amhari to Abu Dhabi to meet with Mubadala Investment Co group chief executive officer Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak to resolve matters between 1MDB and International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) diplomatically without going to arbitration.
DPP Ahmad Akram: What was Amhari’s position in 1MDB?
Najib: He did not hold any position in 1MDB but he was representing me.
Najib said he had chosen Amhari for the 1MDB-Ipic dispute as he wanted someone from his office and not from 1MDB to represent him.
He disagreed with the suggestion that he had sent Amhari to see Khaldoon for his personal interest.
The former premier also admitted that he had sought the assistance of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho for the dealings in China with Amhari despite Low’s bad reputation from the investigation into 1MDB scandal.
DPP Ahmad Akram: Jho Low was said to have swindled funds from 1MDB.
Najib: It was a hot topic at that time.
DPP Ahmad Akram: He is widely known as a person who deceived the country then.
Najib: That was the impression then, yes.
DPP Ahmad Akram: Since that was the case, why did you still need him to help Amhari in China?
Najib: Because I wanted to generate wealth for Malaysia as quickly as possible. He had connections there, that was why we used him. But it wasn’t for China to settle our debts.
DPP Ahmad Akram: But we had our ambassador there. We had our officers there. Why didn’t we use them?
Najib: He (Low) had his connections there.
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 hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues today.
