KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak obtained a RM1 million golden handshake payment from the government's coffers in his final month of civil service in May 2018, the High Court was told.

Testifying before the court for the SRC International Sdn Bhd hearing today, the trial's 27th prosecution witness deputy accountant at the Prime Minister's Department, Putrajaya, Zarina Yusuf said Najib's last drawn salary in May 2018 was RM1,017,014.39.

When Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Izzat Fauzan asked the reason for the sudden jump in Najib's salary, Zarina said she was not sure of the purpose for such payment.

"I'm not very sure what was this payment for, as it was prepared by (the) finance department, but I understand that this was a payment according to the law, for Prime Minister and former Prime Minister," she said.

Apart from the RM1 million payment, Zarina said Najib's salary was pro-rated in May 2018 for his civil service until May 9, 2018, when the 14th General Election (GE14) was held.

According to Zarina, Najib's monthly salary for his service in the public administration amounted to over RM58,000 each month from May 2009 to April 2018.

Between January and April 2009, when Najib was deputy prime minister, Zarina said Najib's civil service payroll was over RM48,000 a month.

On top of that, Parliament administrative officer Farah Nurdiana Azhar, the 26th witness, testified earlier that Najib also received over RM19,000 monthly salary and allowances from Parliament between January 2015 and March 2018.

In other words, Najib's total salary from Parliament and his government positions gave him more than RM78,000 every month before he stepped down after being defeated in GE14.