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Zahid was just following orders, witness tells court

SHAH ALAM: Former Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was just following the orders of his then boss in approving the extension for the Foreign Visa System (VLN) contract to a private contractor, the High Court heard today.

The ministry's former deputy secretary (policy & control) Datuk Suriani Ahmad said this during Zahid's corruption trial on 40 charges in connection with the VLN project.

Under cross-examination by Zahid's lawyer Hamidi Mohd Nor, the fourth prosecution witness agreed that then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had given instructions to the accused for the continuance of the contract.

She also agreed that the then prime minister had jotted down "setuju perlu diteruskan" (agreed it needs to be continued) in a minute on Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd's (UKSB) application letter for the extension.

The minute, she said, was dated May 23, 2013, and Zahid subsequently gave instructions for the contract to be continued.

Hamidi: Who gave (Zahid) the orders?

Suriani: It was the PM's orders.

Hamidi: "Setuju perlu diteruskan", those were the words by the PM to the DPM (in the minute)?

Suriani: Correct.

Hamidi: Just like you, Zahid was also following orders in the Foreign Visa process?

Suriani: That's right.

Meanwhile during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Gan Peng Kun on the notes in the minutes regarding the period of the contract extension, the witness said the approval of the extension of the contract was done in a rush.

"It was done in a rush because the contract had not ended yet.

"There were three more years before the contract was to expire and it could have been evaluated within those three years.

"That is the ministry's stand," she said.

She previously testified that prior to an approval of an extension, the ministry needed to evaluate the company's performance first.

However, she said this was not the case for the extension granted to UKSB.

She said the company's application dated Oct 17,2016, asking the government to extend its contract to manage the VLN for six years had been approved overnight.

The trial before judge Datuk Mohd Yazid Mustafa continues Dec 20.

Zahid, 68, who is Bagan Datuk Member of Parliament, pleaded not guilty to 33 charges of receiving SGD 13.46 million from UKSB as an inducement to extend the company's contract as the operator of a OSC in China and the VLN system, as well as to maintain the agreement to supply VLN integrated system paraphernalia to the same company by the Home Ministry.

The Umno president is also facing another seven charges for accepting SGD1,150,000, RM3,000,000, €15,000 and USD15,000 in cash from the same company which he knew had connection with his function as then Home Minister.

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