This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 10, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday denied abusing his power as a civil servant regarding two government guarantees (GGs) given by the Cabinet to SRC International Sdn Bhd on Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 8, 2012.

Testifying in his defence on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering, Najib said he wants the court to look at all the evidence, including those from himself, as a whole.

“I would like to repeat that all actions regarding the two GGs, the Retirement Fund Inc loan and SRC and other things are done in the interests of the Malaysian government and the finance ministry.

“I would like to repeat that I have no knowledge or involvement in the transaction and want the court to look at the evidence as a whole and also my testimony showing I am innocent,” he said.

Before this, he added that he would declare his interests in cabinet meetings as the need to by with the Code of Ethics.

Citing the Cabinet’s decision involving CIMB and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), CIMB chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and Datuk Johari Razak, an MRCB director in 2015, the former premier said he had declared his interests.

“I would declare my interests and would excuse myself from any decision of the Cabinet,” he said.

Asked why he did not declare his interests in SRC in the Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 8, 2011 meetings, Najib replied he does not have any interests in SRC, despite also being the finance minister.

“I am only a minister supervising SRC, under Minister of Finance Inc that is owned by the Malaysian government. The thought never crossed my mind that there would be [a] conflict.

“Minister of Finance Inc as a whole owns hundreds of companies and when cabinet meetings come, normally it would not be recorded in the cabinet’s history that the finance minister or the second finance minister has to [be] neutral and leave the meetings.

“In my 33 years of history in the cabinet, I have never seen nor observed any minister in charge of finance exclude himself on any decision in relation to companies wholly owned by Minister of Finance Inc on the policy that this is a formal interest and not a personal interest of the minister involved in finance,” he said.

Earlier, the former premier denied knowing the purported funds totalling RM42 million originated from SRC, and that he knew there would be additional donations from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2014.