KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today heard how much Datuk Seri Najib Razak earned from 2009 until he was given a RM1 million special payment when he left office last year.
Details of how Najib had, on the request of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), sought a RM3 billion grant from the government to set up SRC International Sdn Bhd were also laid bare today.
A former deputy director-general of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) revealed that Najib had forwarded a letter from 1MDB seeking the money to set up SRC International, which was supposed to be a special purpose vehicle to get strategic stakes in key resource areas.
This included oil and gas, iron and steel, uranium, coal and other natural resources.
Dr Kamariah Noruddin said EPU only supported RM20 million to be granted for the setting up of SRC International.
The 61-year old, who retired last year said 1MDB managing director Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Helmi, had written a letter to Najib requesting the RM3 billion grant on Aug 27, 2010.
She said Najib then forwarded the letter to EPU for evaluation.
“1MDB wanted RM3 billion to set up SRC International to get involved in strategic key resource areas.
“EPU generally supported the proposal, but we did not support SRC International to get involved in certain sectors like oil and gas as Petronas was already established for this purpose,” she said adding EPU also felt that certain other sectors like steel and aluminium should be left to the private sector.
Kamariah who said her task before retirement was to provide allocations for different ministries, testified that comments on the 1MDB application were subsequently handed to former minister in the prime minister’s department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
She said it was subsequently sent to the prime minister who acknowledged receipt of the memo in October 2010.
“Najib agreed with our evaluation and wrote to us a few days after that and I was instructed to inform 1MDB about the decision,” she said.
Najib’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh will cross-examine Kamariah who is the 27th prosecution witness after the lunch break.
Earlier, the court also heard that Najib earned RM48,681.65 monthly between January and April 2009.
Zarina Yusof who is the deputy accountant in the accounts department of the Prime Minister’s Office said the former prime minister’s payslip from May 2009 to April 2018 showed that he took home RM58,605.15.
She said the difference in salaries was due to Najib being the deputy prime minister before April 2009, when he was made prime minister.
She said Najib was given RM1 million in May 2018 as special payment to the former prime minister.
Such ‘special payment’, she said, was given to all outgoing prime ministers.
Zarina said Najib’s salary used to be banked into his Affin Bank account.
Earlier, another witness, Farah Nurdiana Azhar, 43, who is an administrative officer in Parliament testified that all elected members of parliament (MP) were entitled to a monthly allowance of RM25,700.
She said Najib received RM6,508.59 allowance as an MP and RM3,846.59 allowance as prime minister between 2011 and 2014.
She said for the period between January 2015 and March 2018, his MP allowance was raised to RM16,000 while the other allowance remain the same.
“His monthly allowance from 2015 to 2018 was RM19, 846.59,” she said.
Asked by Harvinderjit whether she knew if Najib had other sources of income, she said it was beyond her knowledge.