Rosmah often received gifts, cash in return for her ‘help’ with govt contracts, Rizal Mansor tells court

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was often approached by entrepreneurs and contractors seeking her help to secure government contracts, Datuk Rizal Mansor told the High Court today.

Testifying against Rosmah in her corruption trial, Rizal stated that he had personal knowledge of contractors and entrepreneurs giving the wife of former prime minister Datuk Najib Razak gifts for helping them to secure government contracts.

Rizal had earlier told the court that among the confidential tasks he was entrusted with by Rosmah as her special officer was the collection of funds or contributions that individuals wished to give to her.

“As the wife of the prime minister, there are many parties that wished to see her. Most of them were entrepreneurs and contractors that wanted to lobby for government contracts. They would meet her to build a good relationship, and subsequently, hoped that she would help convince Datuk Seri Najib to provide them with the opportunity to secure Malaysian government contracts.

“To my knowledge, there are several entrepreneurs or contractors that successfully secured government projects after they were helped by Datin Seri Rosmah.

“Usually, these entrepreneurs or contractors would give gifts to her as a sign of appreciation for having helped them. These gifts included cash,” he said. 

Rizal stated that he often received gifts from contractors or entrepreneurs on behalf of Rosmah on the perceived basis that the gift or contribution was a “political donation”. 

“After gaining Datin Seri Rosmah’s trust, I was tasked with receiving the gifts on her behalf including cash that was meant for her from entrepreneurs or contractors. As all the gifts were given on the grounds of ‘political contributions’, I never thought it would be an offence for me to accept them on her behalf,” he said.

Civil servants’ fear of Rosmah

Rizal also testified that as the prime minister’s wife, Rosmah had a “huge” influence over members of the civil service.

He stated that public servants were often reluctant to turn down requests from Rosmah or the First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM) division, a special section under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Government officers would often try to win Rosmah’s approval by acceding to her requests, Rizal added.

“From my experience working with the civil service, I found Datin Seri Rosmah had a significant influence over them due to several factors. The main factor was the fear that the civil service had of Datin Seri Rosmah, who was seen as the wife of the prime minister, and someone who is fierce and can influence the actions and decisions of the prime minister.

“From the viewpoint of civil servants, Datin Seri Rosmah is capable of influencing the prime minister to transfer government officers who had refused or fought against her requests to a less important position of or, what they say in the civil service, a ‘cold storage’ position,” he said.