Jho Low's name never mentioned in Cabinet meeting minutes - Witness

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today was told that the name of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was not found in Cabinet minutes of meeting during Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration.

Former deputy chief secretary (Cabinet) Tan Sri Mazidah Abdul Majid said this during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib in the former premier's 1MDB trial.

Earlier, the 11th prosecution witness was asked to check the volume of minutes to see whether Jho Low’s name was ever mentioned in the minutes.

Ahmad Akram: Based on all these documents before you, was Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, ever mentioned in these documents?

Mazidah: No.

Ahmad Akram: Did Najib mention to the Cabinet that Jho Low had helped to secure the donation from a Saudi prince to Yayasan 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)?

Mazidah: I can't remember but if Najib did mention Jho Low, it would have been in the meeting minutes. However, Jho Low’s name does not appear in the minutes.

Meanwhile, when cross-examined by Najib's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the 72-year-old witness said that she only heard of Jho Low when the 1MDB issue cropped up.

Muhammad Shafee: Have you heard of Jho Low before?

Mazidah: It is a household name.

Najib, 67, is facing 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 Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues Monday.

--BERNAMA