KUALA LUMPUR: The former top civil servant in the country today revealed the intrigues behind events which led to the removal of former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail in the wake of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal in 2015.
There was absolute silence in an already quiet court room when Tan Sri Ali Hamsa started talking about the controversial events which eventually contributed to the collapse of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government under Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the 14th General Election (GE14).
Ali, who was the chief secretary to the government from 2012 to 2018, was forced to broach the subject when he was questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram in the ongoing trial involving the tampering of the 1MDB audit report.
Najib and co-accused Arul Kanda Kandasamy listened closely from the dock as Sri Ram meticulously took Ali, 64, through a series of questions on Gani and Muhyiddin's exit from the Najib administration.
He started off by asking Ali to explain the circumstances that led to Gani's ouster from office.
Sri Ram: Can you explain the circumstances behind Gani's leaving office.
Ali: There was no trust in Gani
Sri Ram: Who did not trust him?
Ali: The prime minister...Najib. There was loss of trust in Gani.
Sri Ram: Why was there this loss of trust?
At this point Ali seemed hesitant to answer but was prodded on by Sri Ram, who said: "Don't worry...you can speak freely. You are in a court of law."
Ali then went on to say that at that time Muhyiddin had been kicking up a storm about 1MDB in Cabinet meetings and he was informed that the former deputy prime minister had also met Gani.
Ali: I was informed by the prime minister that Muhyiddin and Gani had co-incidentally met at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur. That is one thing that may have become an issue (that led to the loss of trust). Muhyiddin was asking a lot of questions about 1MDB.
Sri Ram: How did Najib react?
Ali: He answered some of the questions
Sri Ram: What happened to Muhyiddin after that?
Ali: He was removed.
Sri Ram: You were then the chief secretary to the government. You gave evidence that Muhyiddin asked a lot of questions about 1MDB in Cabinet. He was then removed.
Ali: The act of removing him was not within my jurisdiction. It is up to the PM. Most of the arguments were one sided. Muhyiddin was making all the noise and we all knew something was coming up.
Sri Ram: So Gani was asked to leave and Muhyiddin was also removed after he asked questions about 1MDB.
Ali: Yes.
Earlier, Sri Ram also asked Ali how Gani had reacted when he was given the letter of his removal.
Ali said Gani merely responded by saying that he had expected it to happen.
He said the letter of Gani's removal was drafted by his assistant in Najib's presence before the then prime minister took it to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be signed.
Sri Ram: So how did you come to be the bearer of the bad news?
Ali: I was called by the PM and he said go and give this to Gani. Tell him to vacate and don't take any documents from the office.
Najib's decision to shore up his Cabinet happened in 2015 and it was widely reported that detractors, including his deputy who had openly criticised the government's handling of public funds by 1MDB, were sacked from office.
Muhyiddin was replaced by then Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is ironically also sitting in the dock facing corruption charges one floor below this court where Najib's trial is taking place.
Gani meanwhile was replaced as AG and the government had then cited the latter's ill health behind his removal.
Prior to that Gani had led a high level probe into allegations that money linked to 1MDB was deposited in Najib's personal account.
However, his successor Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali - who is now the Umno disciplinary board chairman - had cleared Najib of any criminal wrongdoing.
Najib subsequently explained the Cabinet reshuffle by saying that while he could accept differences of opinion and criticism as part of the decision making process, Cabinet ministers should not air their differing views in public forums as it could negatively impact the perception of the government and nation.
The 66-year old is now accused of ordering the 1MDB audit report to be tampered before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in 2016.
He is charged with using his office or position for gratification, an offence under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Act 2009.
He faces up to 20-years jail and fine, if convicted.
Arul Kanda is charged with abetting Najib and faces the same penalties if convicted.