This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 17, 2020 - February 23, 2020

TESTIMONY from witnesses, including two former ministers, during the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial last week contradicted the evidence given by former prime ministerDatuk Seri Najib Razak on a purported donation of RM2.6 billion by King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Najib had previously said it was Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, who informed him in mid-2010 of the late king’s intention to provide financial assistance to Najib. He said Low played an important role in arranging the meetings between Najib and Abdullah, given the now-fugitive businessman’s close ties with the Saudi royal family.

In fact, because of Low’s “connections” with the royals, he had acted as the conduit between Najib and the Saudi royal family, which was why Najib said he had not directly communicated with the Saudis over the RM2.6 billion “donation”.

Three defence witnesses testified, however, that the donation was discussed during a meeting in January 2010 between King Abdullah and Najib. They also told the court that they had seen the close bond between Najib and the monarch, likening their relationship to one of father and son.

During the cross-examination of Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, it was revealed that there was a request made to the Saudis for the “donation”.

“Was there a request for the donation or was it offered by the Saudis?” asked ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram.

“There was a request,” replied Jamil.

“The meeting was attended by the prime minister, the foreign affairs minister and yourself as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Islamic Affairs. Was this request ever discussed by the Cabinet?” asked the prosecutor.

“It was not discussed,” Jamil replied, later adding that political donations have never been discussed by the Cabinet.

Former minister of foreign affairs Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said, however, that based on his own observations, there had been no request for the said donation, and that it was the king himself who offered the funds during that first meeting in Riyadh between the Najib-led Malaysian delegation and Abdullah in January 2010.

Both former ministers also told the court that they had never met Low and were unaware of his involvement in arranging the meeting.

The testimony by the defence witnesses last week also contradicted Najib’s previous evidence that it was Low who told him in mid-2010 about the late king’s intention to provide the purported donation.

Jamil Khir, Anifah and former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Syed Omar Al-Saggaf told the court that some “financial assistance” was discussed during the January 2010 meeting.

Syed Omar said the provision of funds by Saudi Arabia to Malaysia was the main item on the agenda of the meeting, along with a request for an increase in the Haj quota as well as a discussion of the unstable political climate in Islamic countries that later led to the Arab Spring.

“In your witness statement, you clearly stated that the money was for the purpose of assisting the government in winning the [13th general election] — for the same government to stay in power. Is this correct?” asked Sithambaram during cross-examination of the former ambassador.

“I only know that King Abdullah expressed his support [for Najib]. I don’t know what happened after that. Datuk Seri Najib told me that the funds were to be used for the election, not the palace,” said Syed Omar.

“So, you did not hear King Abdullah say the money was for the election?” asked the prosecutor.

“No,” replied Syed Omar.

When the prosecutor put to the witnesses, however, that there was no discussion about the donation during the meeting, both Jamil Khir and Anifah disagreed with the assertion.

On the witness stand, Najib said he had received significant sums between 2011 and 2014, which he believed to have been from King Abdullah, along with several letters allegedly from the Saudi royalty in relation to the donations. These letters were received via Low, he claimed, but he has not produced them in court.

Najib said Low had arranged meetings between himself and King Abdullah during several visits to Riyadh and Jeddah, and he recalled that Low told him that the king was impressed with his leadership of Malaysia.

The businessman had also informed Najib of the king’s intention to confer on him the King Abdulaziz Order of Merit (1st Class) award, whose recipients have included former US president Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

See also 'Najib's audience with King Abdullah secured through payments of money from 1MDB' on Pages 46 and 47

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