KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — A witness recounted in the High Court today of raids and confiscations conducted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) following complaints of alleged fund misappropriation in the millions by officers from the Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department in 2018.
Testifying as the first witness in the former director-general of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid’s RM50.4 million criminal breach of trust trial, MACC officer Muhammad Nizhar Kadir said he was part of an agency-wide raid operation codenamed ‘Ops Dinar 2’ conducted on August 27, 2018.
“The operation was in response to complaints of alleged wrongdoings committed by individuals from the PMD’s Research Division involving the misappropriation of monies that belonged to the Malaysian government that took place between 9pm and 10pm on May 9, 2018,” he said in his witness statement.
As part of a four-man raid team, Muhammad Nizhar said he had received instructions from his superior to head to the PMD and bring a suspect named Hasnol Ambia Abdullah Sani into custody on August 27, 2019.
After taking Hasnol into custody, he said several teams then headed to Shaftsbury Residence, Cyberjaya and a house in Precinct 16, Putrajaya to conducted a follow-up raid in relation to the case he was assigned.
According to Muhammad Nizhar’s testimony, he said the purpose of the raids was to confiscate any form of documents or cash related to their investigation.
With their raids turning up nothing then, Muhammad Nizhar said he was then ordered by his superiors to track down the Research Division’s deputy director Datuk Ruslin Jusoh at the latter’s home in Putrajaya.
With Ruslin in custody as well, Muhammad Nizhar said his team then went back to Shaftsbury Residence on August 30 and managed to seize cash amounting to US$4.07 million at one of the residential units.
On the same day, he also said his team was led by a suspect only identified as Maliki to the latter’s home in Kuala Terengganu and managed to confiscated cash bundles totalling RM220,000 stashed in a Wi-Fi router box that was kept inside a backpack.
Later, he also affirmed in court the copies of several arrest and confiscation notices issued by him throughout the raids.
Hasanah failed to prepare Note Sessions and Desk File upon contract expiration
Testifying as the third witness, former MEIO director-general special officer Norhisham Md Nordin said Hasanah had not prepared the aforementioned documents when her contract expired on June 30, 2018.
“According to the Service Circular No.3 of 2004 and Public Service Department letter dated July 19, 1985, any government official that is transferred out or retire is obliged to prepare Note Sessions and Desk File (Fail Meja) to be passed on to their successor.
“Every transfer process, promotion or service termination must include Note Sessions in line with the directives issued by the Malaysian Government,” he said.
Norhisham explained that the prepared Note Sessions is aimed at guiding the new official who would be taking over the position in their new duties.
In this context, he said Note Sessions of the PMD’s Research Division director-general should contain four parts — the final status of official duties which are yet to complete, list of government properties and office supplies in possession, Desk File and the financial status of departments’ accounts.
He told the court that upon his appointment as special officer to Datuk Ahmad Shublee Othman, who was then MEIO director-general in 2018, he was instructed by the latter to obtain both Note Sessions and Desk File from Hasanah.
“In my capacity as an officer in the Human Resources Department, I hereby verified that both documents were not prepared by Datuk Hasanah.
“To obtain further confirmation, I also got in touch with Hasanah’s former special officers — Raihan Aida Zakaria and Nurul Shahida Md Som — as well as staff in the director-general office who all confirmed the said documents were not prepared by Datuk Hasanah,” he said.
On October 25, 2018, Hasanah pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to a CBT charge involving RM50.4 million belonging to the Malaysian government.
Hasanah, in her capacity as a civil servant, is alleged to have committed the offence at the office of the director-general, Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department Complex, Federal Government Administrative Centre in Putrajaya between April 30 and May 9, 2018.
She was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and whipping and fine, upon conviction.
