KUALA LUMPUR: A National Audit Department staff who secretly recorded a high level meeting involving the chief secretary to the government where instructions were issued to tamper with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) audit report did not breach any code of conduct.
Nor Salwani Muhammad's former boss Ambrin Buang, who was then the Auditor General, cleared her of any wrongdoing while testifying in the High Court today.
Ambrin said Nor Salwani had been instructed to attend the meeting and she was supposed to take down notes of whatever that was discussed during the meeting on Feb 24, 2016.
However, he said she was asked to leave the room just before the meeting started.
Lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram then asked Ambrin if Nor Salwani had breached the code of conduct for civil servants by secretly placing an audio recorder in the pencil case of another higher ranking colleague who sat in the meeting.
Ambrin: No, she did not breach any code of conduct. She was supposed to take down notes of the meeting anyway. The notes were for internal use.
Nor Salwani testified last week that she had secretly recorded the meeting held at former chief secretary Tan Sri Ali Hamsa's office which was attended by her then boss, Ambrin, and other top officers from the prime minister's office, Attorney General's Chambers, the Treasury and also former 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
The recording was subsequently played in the court and those whose voices were recorded could be heard discussing contentious paragraphs in the audit report which should be removed.
In the end, four important but controversial points - including one involving the presence of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low in one of the 1MDB board of directors meeting, were removed altogether.
The same recording was replayed in court today for Ambrin to hear and verify its contents.
Earlier, Ambrin said he felt cheated after finding out that a police report to initiate investigations over two conflicting financial reports which 1MDB had tendered to be audited, was never lodged.
The 70-year old also talked about all the promises and assurances which former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had made to him in the days running up to the 1MDB audit report being tabled to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Ambrin said Najib, who was also chairman of 1MDB board of advisors, had promised him that he would investigate "to the bottom of this" during one of the meetings they had at the latter's office in 2016.
"At that time he was the prime minister and there was no reason for me to doubt him....he promised to get to the bottom of things," he said when testifying in the audit tampering trial involving Najib and Arul Kanda.
However, Ambrin said he doesn't know if Najib ever "got to the bottom of things," after that.
Ambrin said Treasury officials were supposed to lodge a police report over the two conflicting financial reports submitted by 1MDB.
However, he said that too never happened.
"I told my officers to check with the Treasury people if the police report which was supposed to be lodged was done.
"However, they got back to me and said it was not done...I felt cheated."
Najib, 66, is accused of ordering the 1MDB audit report to be tampered with before it was presented to the 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 and faces up to 20 years jail if convicted.
Arul Kanda, who is his co-accused, is charged with abetting Najib and faces the same penalties if convicted.
The trial before judge Mohamed zaini Mazlan continues.