KUALA LUMPUR (July 2): Prosecution witness Datuk Suboh Md Yassin countered the defence’s contention that SRC International Sdn Bhd’s former managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil had forged, copied and abused his signature by saying he was emboldened to do so, as he had a “mountain” behind him.
He quoted the Chinese idiom today — which means to have the backing of a powerful person — as Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s defence sought to pin the blame on the missing man.
The frail 68-year-old replied to defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh’s assertion that Nik Faisal — whose whereabouts are unknown — was a smart fellow capable of forging signatures, by saying if he dared to do so, it was probably because he had the backing of someone strong.
"He [Nik Faisal] is emboldened by his position. He is a powerful person and number two, he has somebody behind him. As the Chinese proverb goes, the mountain is behind him,” said the witness with a smile.
While Suboh did not name the person supporting him, he did highlight that the addition of Article 117 into SRC’s memorandum and articles of association had altered the power structure within the company.
Earlier, SRC former chairman Tan Sri Ismee Ismail testified that the inclusion of the article — done after a board meeting in April 2012 — gave Najib the position of SRC’s advisor emeritus and control of the company.
Their exchange began when Harvinderjit sought to disprove the notion that Nik Faisal was SRC’s only connection to Najib, by showing Suboh that board meeting minutes outlining the former managing director’s duties and terms of employment did not include any such role.
While the witness agreed that it was not explicitly stated, he did point out that Nik Faisal had told the board he has had high-level meetings with Najib that were minuted, detailing instructions for the board.
When the defence counsel tried to say that these were only the former MD’s claims, Suboh pointed out that these were captured in meeting minutes.
Prior to this, Ismee had produced the minutes of Nik Faisal's meeting with Najib on Sept 7, 2011, with the meeting discussed by the board in its meeting on Sept 13, 2011.
The minutes stated that Najib had told Nik Faisal to transfer RM1.8 billion of the first RM2 billion loan from the Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP) to a Swiss Bank and a Hong Kong bank.
Inconsistency is the name of the game
The theme of the defence’s argument today, appeared to be about inconsistencies.
Firstly, they zoomed in on the dissimilarities of his signatures on physical and digital versions of documents that include those directing the transfer of funds, firstly from SRC to its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd — where Suboh was also a director — and thereafter, from the subsidiary to SRC’s charity partner Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd.
RM42 million from Ihsan Perdana was eventually chanelled into Najib’s personal bank accounts between Dec 2014 and Feb 2015.
The defence also tried to show that Suboh was inconsistent in his statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), whom he met six times from Nov 27, 2015 and April 30, 2019.
They focused on his statements recorded on Aug 13 and 15, 2018, highlighting that when he first met its officers in Abu Dhabi on Nov 27, 2015, he had told them the signatures on the Real-time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities System (Rentas) forms for transfers from SRC and Gandingan Mentari were his; however, in a subsequent interviews on May 28 and 30 last year, he said the signatures were not his.
Nonetheless, when he met the commission officers again on Aug 13 and 15 last year, he said the signatures were his.
Suboh agreed with the defence about the inconsistencies of his statements.
Najib is facing seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42 million of SRC funds. The trial continues tomorrow, before High Court judge Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.