Mohd Hazem paid RM97,000 salary as 1MDB CEO, Court told

Mohd Hazem, 48, said he received a RM93,000 salary when he began as CEO in 2013 and received five months’ bonus the same year.

“During my tenure as the CEO, I received (the bonus) twice. The second one was 10 months’ bonus in 2014,” he said.

The 10th prosecution witness was replying to additional questions from deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustafa P. Kunyalam in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s RM2.3 billion 1MDB graft trial.

Mohd Hazem said he first joined 1MDB as the chief operating officer (COO) in 2012 and replaced his predecessor, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi the following year.

“As the COO, I received a RM65,000 monthly salary,” he said.

Before joining 1MDB, Mohd Hazem held the position as the managing director of Sime Darby Auto Connexion, with RM38,000 as his last drawn salary.

The High Court previously heard that Shahrol Azral’s last drawn salary as the CEO was RM99,000 a month and received a bonus of 18 months’ pay.

Meanwhile, during the cross-examination, lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah went through Mohd Hazem’s career progression, in which the witness said he received a RM1,800 pay when he first started as a Senior Executive with Arab Malaysian Merchant Bank from 1996 to 1998.

To this, Muhammad Shafee jokingly said everybody would not forget their first salary and said his first drawn salary was RM670 back when he was with the Attorney-General’s Chambers as a deputy public prosecutor.

Mohd Hazem in 1998, he earned RM2,500 a month when he joined Dana Modal Nasional Berhad as a senior executive.

“Then I moved on to Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia Kuala Lumpur as an Investment Analyst in 2002. My last drawn salary in Credit Lyonnais was about RM12,000.

“In 2002, I joined Deutsche Bank Kuala Lumpur as an Investment Analyst until 2006 with RM15,000 as my last drawn salary,” said Mohd Hazem.

Mohd Hazem also testified that when he joined 1MDB in 2012, it was Shahrol Azral who interviewed him at Eastin Hotel in Petaling Jaya.

Muhammad Shafee: Were you headhunted by Shahrol?

Mohd Hazem: He did not headhunt me. It was my former boss in Arab Malaysian Merchant, Datuk Nor Badli Mohd Alias.

Mohd Hazem said Nor Badli was a friend of Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, who was one of the board members in 1MDB.

“Datuk Nor Badli told me that 1MDB was looking for a COO and I could send in my resume directly to Ismee if I was interested,” he said.

Najib, 67, 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 hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues Oct 5.