KUALA LUMPUR (July 9): Former Finance Ministry secretary Datuk Maliami Hamad will continue to be cross-examined by Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence team at the High Court here as the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial entered into its 34th day today.
Yesterday also saw former SRC director Datuk Suboh Md Yassin telling the court that despite questions or doubts surrounding his signature over the transfer of funds from SRC and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, the prosecution had shown during re-examination that the hundreds of million ringgit transferred did not enter his or former SRC managing director and chief executive officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil's bank accounts.
The prosecution had argued that the transfer had gone from SRC to Gandingan Mentari or Putra Perdana Construction Sdn Bhd and from Gandingan Mentari to SRC's corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd.
Prosecution had thus far attempted to prove that the funds from Ihsan Perdana amounting to RM42 million had entered into Najib's account which is the subject of the seven criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power charges that the former premier is facing.
Maliami, 65, who is the 43rd prosecution witness, and had since retired, testified during examination-in-chief by the prosecution how he had been pressured to prepare a memorandum for cabinet meeting for SRC, in order for the company to secure a government guarantee (GG) for the first RM2 billion Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) loan.
He had illustrated and told the court that how he and his subordinate Afidah Azwa Abdul Aziz were required to prepare the memorandum in only one day — Aug 15, 2011 — for it to be approved by his superiors and also the then Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
He said that normally, details are prepared by the company that is seeking the GG and not the ministry, which is given the task to look and study the proposal.
Maliami also told the court that never in his seven years of work at the ministry that it had to write to KWAP to disperse the second RM2 billion loan before the second GG was issued for SRC.
This follows revelation that SRC needed the funds immediately.
These two occasions marked a first which he had faced at the ministry, where he had worked since 1996 before his retirement.
Maliaimi's testimony seemed to correspond to Afidah's evidence when both of them claimed that SRC was backed by Najib, as the former premier signed the approval for the memorandum of the cabinet meeting for the second loan and also a note from SRC to KWAP supporting the company's request for loan.
Should Maliami finish his evidence today, the next witness will be Deputy Secretary General (Policy) of Ministry of Finance (MoF) Datuk Mat Noor Nawi.
The Edge is bringing the trial involving Malaysia’s former highest-ranking politician who led the country for nine years live.