This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 12, 2019 - August 18, 2019

FIVE potential prosecution witnesses in the ongoing trial of Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC international Sdn Bhd have since died, the investigating officer of the case told the High Court last week.

The 57th prosecution witness, Rosli Hussain, who is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission senior assistant commissioner, said they were private secretary to the former prime minister Datuk Seri Azlin Alias, Economic Planning Unit director-general Datuk Noriah Ahmad, Penang Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) investment chief Ahmad Norhisham Hassan and one Izzat Izairi Osman.

Previously, former Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia CEO Ung Su Ling testified that Azlin was the person who ordered her to facilitate the transfer of funds from Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd into Najib’s accounts.

EPU’s Noriah was tasked to prepare a memo on 1MDB’s application in August 2010 for a RM3 billion government grant to set up SRC.

Noriah also wrote the memo signed by Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop — the then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit — approving a RM20 million allocation only. This was conveyed via a letter dated Oct 12, 2010, to SRC.

The late Zainal Abidin was chairman of the Penang Umno liaison committee, which received RM1 million from one of Najib’s AmBank accounts on Feb 26, 2015.

In 2010, KWAP’s Norhisham was in contact with SRC’s former CEO and managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who fled Malaysia and went into hiding after the authorities began to seriously look into the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.

Norhisham had instructed former assistant vice-president of KWAP’s Fixed Income Department, Amirul Imran Ahmat, to produce a working paper for KWAP’s investment panel in 2011, that only agreed to a loan of RM1 billion to SRC out of RM3.95 billion requested, on the grounds that SRC had provided incomplete documentation.

It is understood that Izzat worked as a driver for Najib’s former political secretary, Datuk Muhammad Khairun Aseh.

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