Seri Jaya Perkasa Sdn Bhd managing director Mubarak Hussain Akhtar Husin told the High Court here that his RM2 million contribution to Sekolah Imtiaz Ulul Albab in Masjid Tanah, Melaka belonging to Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was sincere and not at the request of the former deputy prime minister.

Mubarak Hussain, 44, the 62nd prosecution witness, said this when cross-examined by lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, representing Ahmad Zahid, who asked if his client had requested the contribution.

Asked if he knew the tahfiz school was funded by Ahmad Zahid and Yayasan Akalbudi, the witness said “yes”.

He also agreed with the suggestion of another lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh that the RM2 million contribution made through a cheque under the name Messrs Lewis Co, a trustee of Yayasan Akalbudi belonging to Ahmad Zahid, was his personal contribution and it had nothing to do with any project under the the Home Ministry.

Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi during the re-examination, whether he was sure that Lewis Co was the trustee of Yayasan Akalbudi, Mubarak Hussain replied "Yes, I am sure".

Earlier, Mubarak Hussain, who has been a good friend of Ahmad Zahid since 2008, also confirmed that a cheque of RM2 million, earned from his business, was received by Lewis Co on Nov 25, 2016.

"The cheque was deposited into Lewis Co account by my employee at Maybank Islamic Berhad, Jalan Tun H.S Lee. The signature on this cheque was mine and the handwriting on this cheque was my employee’s.

"The cheque was given to Lewis Co as a sincere donation to Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s tahfiz school (Sekolah Imtiaz Ulul Albab). I gave this donation for the purpose of covering the monthly costs of the tahfiz school,” he said when reading out his witness statement during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffry Ong.

In addition, Mubarak Hussain said he bought Seri Jaya Perkasa Sdn Bhd in 2002 from a man known as “Abdul Syukur” because the company had a two-year contract worth RM20.5 million with KDN and it would be continued if agreed by the ministry.

"The contract was for the deportation of illegal immigrants," he said.

Replying to an additional question from Harris Ong on who directed him to write Lewis Co on the cheque recipient column, Mubarak Hussain said "Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi".

Harris Ong: Why would you use a personal cheque for a donation?

Mubarak Hussain: Because I personally wanted to donate ... I've been to this tahfiz school twice, it can accommodate more than 200 students.

Earlier, three prosecution witnesses who testified today, all businessmen, told the court that they had approached a man named Omar Ali Abdullah to 'solve' their financial problems, provided they had to issue a cheque with the recipient’s name left blank.

They claimed that Omar Ali was able to provide hundreds of thousands of ringgit in cash and solve the companies’ problems. Omar Ali was also seen in court during the proceedings.

For the 27th charge, Ahmad Zahid is accused of having committed money-laundering by instructing one Omar Ali to convert for him a cash amount of RM6,885,300.20, which is income from illegal activities, into 30 cheques that were given to Messrs Lewis Co for the opening of Maybank fixed deposit accounts.

Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges, with 12 of them involving criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit of funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

The trial before Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA