KUALA LUMPUR: It wasn’t the best of days for Datuk Seri Najib Razak in court today as he not only had to deal with a crippling expose of his private conversations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), but also face embarrassing accusations in connection with his SRC International Bhd case.
Aside from being accused of giving “ludicrous evidence” on the millions which came in and out of his personal bank accounts, the former prime minister also had to deflect pointed questions that he was blaming the whole world to save his own skin.
Lead prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram had Najib against the ropes throughout the day over this line of defence which the accused had adopted.
At one point, the senior criminal lawyer almost lost it when Najib kept saying that he never kept track of how much he had in his bank accounts as he left such details for others to manage.
His answer sparked Sithambaram off and the deputy public prosecutor didn’t hold back when he said that one did not have to be a rocket scientist to realise how “ridiculous” it was for Najib to claim ignorance over such things when he was spending millions by issuing cheques for various purposes.
Today’s hearing started with Sithambaram continuing with his cross-examination of the 66-year-old Pekan member of parliament over claims that Najib’s bank accounts had been manipulated by others, including fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low.
Najib maintained that this was the case, but was left flustered when asked why anyone would manipulate his accounts by injecting millions into them for him to spent every sen of it.
Sithambaram: Your own lawyers calculated that Jho Low deposited between US$80 million and US$90 million into your accounts. This means money was put into your account and you spent it as you deemed fit or as you pleased, correct?
Najib: I suppose so, yes
Sithambaram: You have throughout this trial portrayed yourself as a victim of Jho Low’s manipulation, correct?
Najib: Yes
Sithambaram: You must be the first victim of any manipulation to gain millions in your accounts.
Najib: I wouldn’t know... I did not ask for it but you can put it that way if you want.
Sithambaram: That is the only way to put it. Usually victims of any manipulation lose money but here the manipulator lost money.
Najib: He could have made from other areas... I don’t know.
Sithambaram: There is no way Jho Low was manipulating the personal bank accounts of the prime minister, who was also the finance minister and the most powerful figure in the country at that time. Do you agree?
Najib: I disagree
Sithambaram: Why would anyone want to put all this money into your account?
Najib: I don’t want to speculate.
Sithambaram: Yes, because it will look silly!
Sithambaram then questioned Najib over his claims that he did not know millions were being pumped into his accounts because the bank statements had been kept hidden from him.
Najib stuck to his story about this, but was eventually forced to acknowledge that he himself had mandated former SRC International chief executive Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil to collect the statements on his behalf.
However, he only did so after Sithambaram debunked his claims that there was a blackberry conversation between Jho Low and his relationship manager from AmBank to keep his bank statements hidden from him.
Sithambaram: Let me clear that up. That one miserable conversation was about your credit card statement. The bank had sent one statement to your office and Jho Low immediately instructed the bank to never do it again as you did not want the statement falling into the wrong hands. It was your credit card statement and not your bank statement.
Najib: There was the conversation between Jho Low and Joanna Yu (Najib’s relationship manager at AmBank).
Sithambaram: I put it to you that Jho Low was actually bankrolling you.
Najib: I disagree.
Sithambaram: Your evidence is ludicrous.
Najib: I disagree.
Sithambaram: You want to paint a picture that Jho Low fixed you by manipulating your bank accounts to escape liability from this case.
Najib: No, no, no.
Sithambaram: Can you explain why Jho Low will pay US$90 million into your accounts?
Najib: I don’t want to speculate.
Sithambaram: There is nothing to speculate. You agree that you spent the entire amount?
Najib: If that is what the accounts show then I spent it, yes.
Sithambaram: You spent it as if it was your money?
Najib: Because I was given the discretion to spend it for corporate social responsibility (CSR). In my mind the money was leftover from the Arab donation.
Sithambaram: Your evidence is completely untrue.
Najib: No.
Najib said he had believed all the time that the Arab donation was from the late Saudi ruler, King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al Saud, but he did not verify when the money was deposited into his accounts.
“I received the money in good faith and I did not check when it was deposited into my acounts.
“However Bank Negara was aware of it,” he said on the money he received between 2011 and 2014.
The trial before High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali continues.
Najib is facing seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International funds.
He faces 20 years jail and fine if convicted.