KUALA LUMPUR (June 7): Prosecution witness Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan testified that he received a monthly advisory fee of RM30,000 per month while he was on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s board of advisors (BoA) since July 1, 2010, despite not having to attend any meetings or discussions related to the troubled fund.
Sidek, who was then the chief secretary to the government, received the remuneration up until his retirement from the civil service on June 23, 2012.
After his retirement, 1MDB still retained him on the BoA with a monthly fee of RM10,000 effective January 2013, an amount he received every month until June 2015.
The sums would be credited directly into his personal CIMB Bank account, he said, adding that this income was declared to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).
The BoA was subsequently dissolved on June 2, 2016.
“I was never informed of the reasons behind the dissolution of the board of advisors, and I did not know why it was dissolved. I never asked Datuk Seri Najib [Razak] or 1MDB about the dissolution of the board of advisors,” he testified, while reading his witness statement.
However, Sidek stated that Najib did ask him about his income while he was the chief secretary to the government, with the then prime minister expressing that Sidek’s income was low.
“Therefore, I was under the assumption that my appointment in 1MDB was only to increase my income as chief secretary to the government, which Datuk Seri Najib considered was not commensurate,” he said.
While he did receive remuneration, Sidek said he was never involved in any meetings or discussions relating to 1MDB’s issues or investments, nor did he receive any report from the 1MDB management relating to the company’s operations.
Sidek said he only found out about 1MDB’s troubles through media reports in newspapers and on the internet, adding that he understands the issues are related to allegations of misuse of funds.
He said he was made aware of the investigations by local authorities such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) through media reports as well.
“However, I was never briefed or directly told of the details of the 1MDB investigation. I also confirm that Datuk Seri Najib, as prime minister, did not tell me about the issues at 1MDB, despite being a member of the board of advisors of 1MDB,” he said.
“I never asked Datuk Seri Najib or any parties in 1MDB about the troubles in 1MDB because, as I understood it, 1MDB was established to be used as a political fund for the then government, Barisan Nasional,” added Sidek.
After wrapping up his witness statement, deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam asked Sidek if Najib had informed the Cabinet of his receipt of more than RM2 billion from Tanore Finance Corp.
The witness, however, said that if this matter was discussed, it would have been recorded in the meeting minutes.
Besides Sidek, 1MDB’s BoA, led by Najib as chairman, also includes former minister in the prime minister’s department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, former chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and former treasury secretary general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar.
Qatar’s ex-prime minister Sheikh Hamad Jassim Jaber Al-Thani was also present on the BoA as special advisor.
Sidek will be called back for cross-examination by Najib’s senior counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on Wednesday (June 8).
The Edge is covering the trial live here.
Users of The Edge Markets app may tap here to access the live report.