KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Donations that had been given to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia have to be declared to the party's supreme council, which is the party's highest executive body that also includes party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the High Court heard today.
Bersatu headquarters' finance officer Muhammad Zulhelmi Zaulkafly, 34, said this while testifying as the 22nd prosecution witness in former prime minister Muhyiddin's power abuse and money laundering trial.
Zulhelmi today confirmed that the political party did receive donations from individuals and companies from 2020 to 2022, adding that donations were made through online transfers, cheques or cash deposits.
Zulhelmi said Bersatu has two bank accounts, namely a CIMB account to receive donations and membership fees, and an AmBank account that was for administrative and operational purposes.
Based on Bersatu's party constitution's Article 23.2.1, Zulhelmi said each financial contribution to the party has to be declared to the party's supreme council.
Zulhelmi told Deputy Public Prosecutor Mahadi Jumaat that the party's secretary-general is the one who monitors Bersatu's accounts, and the one responsible for reporting the party's financial matters to the supreme council.
Mahadi: And does this MPT (supreme council) include the president?
Zulhelmi: Yes. Correct.
Zulhelmi, who has worked as Bersatu's finance officer since 2018 and is also a Bersatu member, had earlier said that Muhyiddin has been party president since 2016.
Zulhelmi said his duties included recording Bersatu's financial matters, as well as sending a monthly financial report to his superior, then Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Mohamed Salleh Bajuri.
Previously, evidence from bank officers and banking documents in this trial had shown that RM19.3 million entered Bersatu's CIMB account through 28 cheques in 2021 and 2022, and RM6 million entered Bersatu's AmBank accounts through 10 cheques in 2022.
During cross-examination by Muhyiddin's lawyer Chetan Jethwani, Zulhelmi agreed that Muhyiddin does not get involved in the party's day-to-day administration.
Zulhelmi confirmed that he does not take instructions from Muhyiddin, but took instructions in the finance department instead from Salleh.
Chetan: And when it comes to donations that come into the party, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin doesn't get involved in donations?
Zulhelmi: Yes, correct.
As someone working in Bersatu's finance division, Zulhelmi confirmed that Muhyiddin had not taken any interest in or asked questions about the names of donors and the amount of donations.
Among other things, Zulhelmi confirmed that Bersatu's financial reports are reported to the party leadership and the supreme council as a whole, and not one individual person.
Zulhelmi also agreed with Chetan that the supreme council's powers are not placed in an individual, but are instead placed in the entire supreme council.
When donations for Bersatu come in the form of cheques, these would first reach Salleh, before Zulhelmi records the cheques' details.
Zulhelmi said he would record the names of donors if this was available on the cheques, and would record the donor as "anonymous" if the donations came in via bankers' cheques since these would not state the donors' names.
Who has control over money going out from Bersatu in cheques?
For Bersatu's CIMB account which receives donations, Zulhelmi confirmed that the Bersatu secretary-general is the sole mandatory signatory for this account's cheques, and that the signature of either party president Muhyiddin or then deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu were also required for the cheques.
Zulhelmi agreed that this means that Bersatu's cheques cannot be issued without Salleh and would need at least two persons' consent, also agreeing that this means control over the party's financial affairs were split between the trio.
Zulhelmi said he was unsure if these three signatories would still have to get approval from Bersatu's supreme council — which has more than 20 members — for party spending.
When Chetan suggested that no single person has "exclusive control" over Bersatu's financial affairs, Zulhelmi agreed.
According to Zulhelmi, the money in Bersatu's accounts was not spent for any individual's personal use, but had always been used for party purposes such as election campaigns, to pay salaries and rental, and to carry out the party's general meeting.
Among other things, Zulhelmi confirmed to Chetan that Bersatu's accounts are audited annually and sent to the Registrar of Societies (RoS), also agreeing that there have been no queries or complaints from the auditors or complaints from RoS about the accounts.
Zulhelmi confirmed that there was a management committee in Bersatu chaired by Faizal and that Muhyiddin does not sit on this committee, later adding that this committee handles the party's administrative matters such as its divisions, branches and finances.
Lead prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin then asked what was Muhyiddin's role in relation to this management committee that is under Bersatu, and said Muhyiddin could not have been just a "rubberstamp".
Zulhelmi initially said he was unsure of Muhyiddin's role in relation to this management committee, but later said Muhyiddin's role was to "supervise".
Zulhelmi told Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Nur Iman Wan Ahmad Afzal that Muhyiddin's supervisory role meant that he takes note of the management committee's role and handling of the management of party affairs.
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin resumes on August 17.
In this trial, Muhyiddin faces seven charges — four counts of allegedly abusing his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for Bersatu (from Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Azman Yusoff, Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd), and three counts of money laundering involving funds Bersatu allegedly received from Bukhary Equity.
