Najib denies directing SRC through Nik Faisal, court heard

Najib, 71, said there was no reason for him to direct the SRC board of directors (BOD) through Nik Faisal, as SRC was merely one of many companies under the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) managing national interest-related projects at that time.

"I was not in any position to micro-manage any MOF Inc company. Looking at things now, it appears that Nik Faisal may have been playing both sides. To me, he would present that matters had been decided by the BOD, and to the BOD, he implied that I had directed those matters.

"What baffles me is why the other directors of SRC including Tan Sri Ismee did not bother to verify things with me directly and merely accepted the word of Nik Faisal, especially in relation to the company’s funds," said the former prime minister while reading his witness statement during examination-in-chief by his counsel Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee.

Najib was testifying as a defendant in SRC International’s US$1.18 billion civil suit against him and Nik Faisal, who remains at large.

Najib also testified that during his tenure as Advisor Emeritus, the SRC board rarely sought his counsel except on two occasions when another SRC former director Datuk Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin referred to him letters seeking his views on the National Strategic Coal Initiative and the Trans Sabah Gas Pipeline Project.

"I had minuted my approval and agreement to these projects on the letters from SRC. I understood that my advice was being sought because these were matters of strategic importance to Malaysia.

"It again baffles me how a BOD comprising such qualified and experienced persons could merely accept the word of Nik Faisal 'hook, line, and sinker'. I really doubt whether this actually happened but I’m sure the BOD minutes of meeting and other contemporaneous documents would reflect the real events but I have not viewed the same," Najib explained.

As Finance Minister at that time, Najib was the sole shareholder of SRC International by way of MOF Inc.

In May 2021, under new management, SRC International filed the lawsuit, accusing Najib of breach of trust, abuse of power and personally benefiting from the company’s funds and misappropriating the same.

SRC International previously removed five of its directors including Ismee from the lawsuit, retaining Najib as the sole defendant. However, the High Court permitted Najib to issue third-party notices against them.

The company seeks a court declaration holding Najib accountable for the company's losses due to his alleged breach of duties and trust and for him to compensate the RM42 million in losses they have incurred.

The trial before Judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin continues.

-- BERNAMA