This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 9, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is not discounting the possibility of calling up a former minister, who received a message from Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah threatening to spill the beans on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) as a witness in the ongoing SRC International Sdn Bhd trial.

Muhammad Shafee, who is the lead defence counsel for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, however expressed his satisfaction with Husni’s testimony on the matter during cross-examination in the High Court yesterday.

“If necessary we will call [the former cabinet minister] as a witness,” Muhammad Shafee told reporters after yesterday’s hearing.

“But I am happy enough that he said ‘I can’t remember’,” the lawyer said, referring to Husni’s reply to a question as to whether he sent the message to his then cabinet colleague.

“If [he did not] do that, how can he say [that]? This is a serious threat,” Muhammad Shafee added.

Husni served as second finance minister from 2009 to June 2016. Najib, who was then the finance minister, is facing seven counts of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM42 million said to be siphoned from SRC into his personal bank accounts in 2014 to 2015.

During his cross-examination, he was alleged by Muhammad Shafee to have sent a text message in 2016 to a fellow minister, accusing foul play and threatening to tell all with regard to the government’s 1MDB dealings.

Part of the message reads: Untuk mempertahankan diri, mereka akan bercerita pelbagai cerita. Saya tak buka mulut lagi. Baru 1%. Saya boleh buka 5%, 10%, 30%, 90%. Jangan main foul, nanti terbongkar semua cerita.

(To protect themselves, they will tell many stories. I have not opened my mouth. It was only 1%. I can expose 5%, 10%, 30%, 100%. Do not resort to foul play, or else everything will be exposed.)

The message was alleged to have been sent to the minister, who Muhammad Shafee said was in charge of an eventually scrapped highway extension project for the New Pantai Expressway worth RM2.4 billion.

Earlier, it was confirmed in court that Husni’s son Khalid Ahmad Husni was a staff in a company that was initially awarded a portion of the contract worth RM1 billion.

Khalid was “dismissed” from his position in the company, following what Husni described as attacks by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, which he said was orchestrated by Najib because he raised 1MDB issues in Parliament.

“You sent a note to the minister in charge of the project,” said Muhammad Shafee, who refused to show the whole message to Husni at the witness stand.

“I can’t remember,” Husni eventually replied. He however insisted that he was not angry at the former prime minister for the debacle that ended with his resignation from the government and all party posts within Umno and Barisan Nasional in June 2016.