Najib asked Cabinet not to make Saudi prince's donation public - Witness

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today was told that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had asked the Cabinet not to make the donation from a Saudi prince to Yayasan 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) public as per the donor’s request.

Former deputy chief secretary (Cabinet) Tan Sri Mazidah Abdul Majid, 72, said the former prime minister informed the matter during a Cabinet Meeting held in Putrajaya on Sept 8, 2010.

The meeting was chaired by Najib himself, as the then Finance Minister, she said.

“Saudi prince Sultan Abdul Aziz Al-Saud channelled the donation from his charity foundation to the Yayasan 1MDB. Datuk Seri Najib said the first contribution had been received and the prince had promised to channel subsequent donations later.

“Datuk Seri Najib said with the donation, more projects and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes can be implemented through Yayasan 1MDB,” she said when reading her witness statement at the former premier’s 1MDB trial.

The 11th prosecution witness said that at the same meeting, Najib also asked the Cabinet ministers to propose about the CSR projects that could be implemented in October 2010.

“He also said that the government should be more creative in finding other sources of funds as it would give more flexibility to the government to help the people,” she said.

Mazidah said the minutes of a Cabinet meeting were later verified by Cabinet secretary, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and the then Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

In September 2019, former 1MDB chief executive officer, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi testified that fugitive businessman, Low Taek Jho or Jho Low handed to him four cheques totalling US$100 million, which were alleged donations from the Saudi royal family to the Yayasan 1MDB Trust Fund.

He then passed the cheques to the 1MDB Finance Department for safekeeping before tendering his resignation in 2013.

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 Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA