KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Former Attorney General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali will be called as a defence witness for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption trial, the High Court was told today.
Najib’s lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed told High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali today that Apandi would be called to take the witness stand to verify and confirm his press release from 2016 which vindicated Najib of any wrongdoings in relation to this case.
“We will be calling the relevant witness to come and verify the statement. Yes, we will call the former Attorney General (Tan Sri) Apandi,” he told the court.
This was after Najib when reading his witness statement today as the first defence witness, cited excerpts of Apandi’s press statement from that year, saying he held onto the former AG’s findings that there was no wrongdoing on his part in relation to funds from SRC International.
“In the end, in 2016, the Attorney General at that time particularly made a statement that investigations were carried out and then reported to the Attorney General’s Chambers, that there were no testimonies related to having knowledge of wrongdoings on my part.
“I hold on to this until today,” Najib said from the witness stand.
Najib then read other parts of Apandi’s statement from, mainly surrounding the latter’s comments that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the former prime minister in relation to approving the RM4 billion loan to SRC International from Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP).
He also pointed out how Apandi’s statement said that evidence had shown the loan guarantee approval by the Cabinet at that time was done properly, and how no evidence had shown that the then prime minister had solicited or was promised any gratification from any party either before, during, or after the Cabinet decision was made.
“The evidence as a whole does not disclose any conflict of interest on the part of YAB PM.
“And MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) itself admitted that based on their investigation, there is no evidence from the witnesses that could show that YAB PM had committed any act of corrupt practice,” Najib read.
Najib also testified that he was unaware of transactions in and out of his bank accounts which were done without his knowledge, and only found out about them after Apandi’s statement was released.
Najib said these findings published by the former AG had also led him to not pursue any further civil action against former federal minister Tun Ling Liong Sik.
This is in relation to a defamation suit Najib had filed against Ling in 2016 for comments the latter had made alleging misappropriation of funds from SRC International.
“After that, I did not see the need to file a civil suit or investigate the matter further considering I was very happy with letting go of the matter,” he said of his reaction following Apandi’s statement.
Najib was called to enter his defence to answer seven charges related to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Three are for criminal breach of trust over a total RM42 million of SRC International funds while entrusted with its control as the prime minister and finance minister then, three more are for laundering the RM42 million, and the last is for abusing the same positions for self-gratification of the same sum.
The trial resumes tomorrow morning.
