KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Aliza Abd Malek today said she receives a monthly income of RM12,500 as director of the Bumiputera contractor Nepturis Sdn Bhd, but denied she was merely an employee or nominee of the man who allegedly secretly owned 30 per cent of the company’s share.
She was testifying as the 13th prosecution witness in former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s power abuse and money laundering trial in relation to projects given to Bumiputera contractors under the government’s Jana Wibawa programme.
Aliza’s company Nepturis was previously shown in this trial to have paid RM1 million via a cheque to Muhyiddin’s political party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, but she was not quizzed about this RM1 million sum.
Aliza said she had a monthly salary of RM4,000 when she worked in Nepturis previously as senior procurement executive, but said her total monthly income increased to RM12,500 (RM6,500 basic pay and RM6,000 allowances) after she was “appointed” in 2018 to become the company’s director and shareholder.
Aliza said the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) records only showed Mohd Rizman Akum Khan’s and her name as the directors and shareholders of Nepturis, but added that they had a verbal understanding with Lian Tan Chuan (“TC Lian”) to split the shares among the three of them.
Although Lian’s name is not in official records as a shareholder or director of Nepturis, Aliza insisted that he actually has a 30 per cent share in the company and its profits.
Muhyiddin’s lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad then suggested that Aliza was not really a director of Nepturis, pointing out that the company had a paid-up capital of RM7 million and having many projects while she only had a RM12,500 monthly income and a maximum two-month annual bonus.
Amer: So in other words, you are not really a director based on the facts and circumstances of what you described, you and Rizman are nothing more than just employees who earn a monthly salary, who receive an annual bonus of no more than two months. I propose to you, despite what you portray to the court, you are nothing more than just a nominee for TC Lian, agree?
Aliza: Disagree.
Later, Amer suggested that Aliza’s purported career progression to become a director of Nepturis was because Lian did not want his name to be known as being involved with the company, but she disagreed.
When Amer suggested that her salary hike and the bonus were a “reward” for allowing her name to be used as Nepturis’ director and shareholder, Aliza merely replied that she sees it as a “rezeki” (blessing).
Amer continued to suggest this was in return for Lian using Aliza’s name as the company’s director and shareholder, but Aliza denied this: “He was not using my name. He gave me a chance to progress forward, that’s why he gave the company to me and Rizman, he injected capital, he taught me and Rizman strategies.”
Later, Aliza said she and Rizman were previously working as a senior procurement executive and a project coordinator respectively in Nepturis, before Lian handed over the company to them to operate as directors.
She explained that the two of them were long-standing employees who had continued supporting Lian through tough times.
As for their roles, Aliza said she currently manages the company’s office and employees, while Rizman attends external meetings and liaises with agencies on the company’s projects.
“I have long known Mr Lian, Mr Lian gave me a chance to continue progressing forward, move one level up, to change the life of my family, and from Mr Lian’s capital injection, strategy, guidance, he asked me and Rizman to manage Nepturis based on the trust given by him,” she later said, adding that Lian could interfere and have a say in the company’s administration and finances.
According to Aliza, Nepturis had been awarded four government projects since she became a director in 2018, but said the company has yet to declare profits or paid any dividends as the projects have not been completed yet.
The four projects include a RM141 million project to build the Klang Utara district police headquarters, which was under the Bumiputera contractors’ programme Jana Wibawa.
Lian’s name missing from official records on Nepturis, but still had role
Aliza confirmed that her responsibilities as Nepturis director included receiving instructions from Lian from time to time, including the company’s operations, finances, direction and projects.
Aliza agreed that Lian was previously one of the signatories for Nepturis’ bank account, also confirming that she had still received instructions from Lian about finances even after she and Rizman became the company’s sole signatories.
She confirmed that Lian could give instructions for Nepturis to transfer money or to issue cheques, and could also look at the company’s bank statements and know the purpose of money coming into the company’s account.
She confirmed that the SSM records previously contained Lian’s name for Nepturis, but that his name was no longer seen in SSM records or public information relating to Nepturis after 2018.
Aliza confirmed that Nepturis used these SSM records to register with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) as a contractor and to subsequently get a certificate of Bumiputera status for the company from the “Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor” (PKK).
But Aliza said SSM, CIDB, PKK did not know of the “private arrangement” where Lian actually held shares in Nepturis, confirming that Lian’s name would not be seen when CIDB evaluates the company’s status or when the company gets certified as a Bumiputera company.
She confirmed the information about Lian’s role as a shareholder in Nepturis was never notified to the government, the Finance Ministry or Muyiddin.
However, she later said she did not know if Muhyiddin actually knew of this private arrangement between her, Rizman and Lian on the Nepturis shareholding, also adding that Lian would be able to answer this.
Among other things, Aliza agreed that Muhyiddin and Bersatu have no interest in Nepturis, and that the company is controlled by her and Rizman.
Aliza denies private shareholding arrangement with Lian was deception
Despite confirming that Lian’s name was not disclosed to the government, Aliza disagreed with Amer’s suggestion that the failure to give accurate and complete information on Nepturis’ shareholders to the government was a form of deception.
She instead argued that she was following the SSM records where she and Rizman on paper had a 50 per cent stake each in Nepturis, saying that it was because Lian had given the company to the two of them.
She confirmed that Nepturis had applied for the government projects without disclosing Lian’s name to SSM.
Later when asked by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat, Aliza explained why she had disagreed that the private shareholding arrangement with Lian was a form of deception:
“As I said earlier, Mr Lian had handed over this company to me and Rizman, he already already that the share be handed over 50-50 to me and Rizman although the capital injection is from Mr Lian, so I think my name and Rizman’s in SSM is legitimate.”
She also said there had been no legal action taken against her, Rizman, or Lian regarding Nepturis since 2018 until now.
Separately, Saipullah Husin, a senior engineer at the Public Works Department (JKR) headquarters here, testified as the 14th prosecution witness.
In this trial, Muhyiddin is facing seven charges, namely four counts of alleged power abuse to obtain RM225.3m bribes for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (from Nepturis, Azman Yusoff, Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, and Mamfor Sdn Bhd) and three counts of alleged money laundering through money that Bersatu received from Bukhary Equity.
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin resumes tomorrow.
