Crime & Courts

Najib: '1MDB funds not used to boost my image' [WATCH]

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak denied that he used millions from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds to boost his personal image, the High Court heard today.

The former prime minister defended the issuance of millions in cheques for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, stating that it was to engage a wider audience, particularly the Chinese community.

He also reaffirmed that the monies involved in the CSR initiatives came from a donation by the late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia and not from the sovereign wealth fund.

Najib said this under cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar in his corruption trial for misappropriating billions of 1MDB funds today.

At the outset of today's trial, Kamal Baharin focused on the 21 money laundering charges involving five cheques issued in August 2013, amounting to RM22.26 million, allegedly linked to 1MDB.

Kamal Baharin highlighted a RM246,000 transaction made to Lim Soon Peng as payment to a company managing one of Najib's Facebook pages, 'Ah Jib Gor.'

The former Umno president stated that the CSR initiatives were related to his role as prime minister to communicate government policies to the Chinese community and were carried out as part of his duties.

Kamal Baharin countered Najib's argument by suggesting that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) could handle the duty, to which Najib replied that it was beyond the PMO's scope as it involved a social media platform.

The prosecutor also questioned the RM303,000 transaction involving Semarak Konsortium Satu Sdn. Bhd., which Najib explained was for the company's assistance in drafting his English speeches for international forums.

Kamal Baharin: Can PMO officers draft speeches for you?

Najib: I need those with high proficiency in English.

Kamal Baharin: Are civil servants not proficient in English?

Najib: It was hard to find at the time.

Najib faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.

The trial before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.

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