KUALA LUMPUR: The RM1mil payment from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to Tan Sri Shahrir Ab Samad was to replace Shahrir’s pension money that he had used for political activities in Johor Baru, the High Court was told.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Asst Supt Nurzahidah Yacop, 35, said this was what the Umno veteran had claimed during investigations into the case.
She said Shahrir had asked Najib to replace the pension money he had spent during a meeting with the then prime minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Putrajaya in 2013.
Nurzahidah, the 22nd prosecution witness, was cross-examined by Shahrir’s lawyer Datuk Syed Faisal Al-Edros Syed Abdullah Al-Edros here yesterday.
She took the stand after Najib, the 21st prosecution witness, refused to testify unless his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was in court.
“I request to give my statement on Jan 5 because it is important for my lawyer to be here with me,” Najib said.
He told deputy public prosecutor Rasyidah Murni Azmi that Shafee was now away on a different matter.
Shahrir’s lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin had no objection and Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin allowed Najib to defer his testimony to Jan 5.
In her testimony, Nurzahidah agreed with Syed Faisal’s suggestion that Shahrir had used his money in the Johor Baru constituency by fixing a housing project, Projek Pemulihan Perumahan Puri Langkasuka (Seri Anugerah), in Larkin.
She also agreed with the suggestion that the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) had never determined whether the RM1mil was considered income or otherwise.
Syed Faisal: They (the superior officers) suggested charging Shahrir with failure to declare his income tax although LHDN did not make any determination whether the RM1mil is income or not?
Nurzahidah: Yes.
In her previous testimony, Nurzahidah told the court that MACC’s investigation found RM1mil had been credited into Shahrir’s Public Bank Bhd account from an AmIslamic Bank cheque belonging to Najib on Nov 28, 2013.
The witness said Najib had written and signed off on the cheque before handing it to Shahrir at PMO.
Shahrir, 72, was charged with money laundering by not stating his real income in the Income Tax Return Form, which is a violation of Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967, on the RM1mil, believed to be from unlawful activities, which he received from Najib through a cheque.
The cheque was deposited into Shahrir’s Public Islamic Bank account on Nov 28, 2013.
He was charged with committing the offence at IRB, Duta Branch, Government Office Complex, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim here on April 25, 2014.
The charge, framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, provides a maximum fine of RM5mil, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, if found guilty.
The hearing continues today.