KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Tuesday claimed negligence and mistakes by his former private secretary in the transfers of funds belonging to him and his foundation had prompted him to use a law firm to ensure tighter control of such transfers.

Testifying before the High Court here at his corruption trial, Zahid said that Major Mazlina Mazlan Ramly, who was entrusted with the running of his personal bank accounts and finances as well as that of Yayasan Akalbudi, was negligent in handling his finances as well as Yayasan Akalbudi's.

He said he had no choice but to transfer more than RM17 million in funds from his charitable organisation to law firm Lewis & Co as the law firm would ensure tighter control of the fund transfers, he maintained, arguing his actions did not constitute a criminal breach of trust (CBT).

"What choice did I have? That was why I transferred the funds where there was an accountant and a bookkeeper as well as accounts officers who could take care of a client's accounts," he testified before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

"I made the change not for criminal breach of trust but because we needed to use a legal firm with officers who would take care of the funds as trustees to Yayasan Akalbudi," he said.

Zahid, who was testifying in his own defence against 47 charges involving CBT, corruption and money laundering with his charitable foundation and the misappropriation of its funds, said that Mazlina was to blame for using Yayasan Akalbudi funds to carry out these transactions.

Zahid was reading from a witness statement he gave to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in October 2018 while under investigation. He was also answering questions put to him by his lawyer.

Zahid said he had chosen Lewin & Co as trustees as he had been introduced to them by a colleague and friend at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Zahid also testified that he had never instructed Mazlina to use Yayasan Akalbudi funds to pay for his private vehicles' insurance policies and road taxes. He is charged with using RM107,509.55 of the foundation's funds to pay the road taxes for his vehicles.

"I would have stopped her immediately if I had known," he said, insisting Mazlina had done this without his green light.

"I want to make it clear: I had absolutely no idea she used these cheques to pay for the insurance policies and road taxes."

Allianz General Insurance agent Ahmad Izhan Abdul Rashid, who was called as the 14th prosecution witness, previously testified that Mazlina had given him the Yayasan Akalbudi cheques dated Jan 22, 2015 for RM24,980.55, another cheque dated April 15, 2015 for RM43,645, and a third cheque dated Sept 22, 2015 for RM38,884.

The witness, who has been an agent for the insurance company since 2006, said the former deputy prime minister took 39 car insurance policies from him for 20 vehicles, including 18 luxury vehicles such as BMW X5, Mini Cooper S, BMW 320i (A), Mercedes Benz CLS350 and a BMW R1200 GS motorcycle.

Zahid is represented by Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal.