PUTRAJAYA: The High Court here was told today that in 2008, the Finance Ministry endorsed a proposal for Menteri Besar Terengganu Incorporated (MBTI) to retain complete control over the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
Former Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said the Finance Ministry’s proposal was followed by a federal government guarantee for the issuance of RM5 billion in Islamic Medium-Term Notes for the development of the state investment company.
The 15th defence witness was referred to the minutes of the Cabinet meeting dated Dec 12, 2008, that he attended, where the then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented issues related to the TIA, which was said to be an initiative by the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.
According to the minutes, the Finance Ministry proposed Terengganu control the TIA.
However, in 2009, Najib (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak), as Prime Minister, agreed with the Cabinet’s collective decision for the federal government to take over the TIA professionally without political interference.
Noh said this during the examination-in-chief by lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Najib in the trial over the former prime minister’s alleged misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.
Najib served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister during Abdullah’s administration.
The 67-year-old witness stated that Najib did not appear to have any personal interest or inclination in the takeover of the TIA, as there was a four-month delay by the Finance Ministry in preparing the memorandum on the matter.
“…since the first presentation on the TIA on Dec 12, 2008, it took four months before the Finance Ministry, under Najib’s leadership, to present this memorandum for the Cabinet’s attention.
“If Najib had any inclination, the Finance Ministry would not have taken four months to make the presentation. Based on my experience as a Cabinet Minister, when there is a directive from the Cabinet, ministries usually act quickly—sometimes in less than a month,“ said Noh.
In his earlier testimony, Najib stated that the idea of the federal government taking over the TIA arose after the then-TIA chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi wrote a letter to him and former Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop on May 25, 2009, highlighting internal conflicts between the TIA’s management and MBTI.
In the letter, Shahrol Azral proposed that the TIA be rebranded as 1MDB, modelled after Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala. It officially changed its name to 1MDB on Sept 25, 2009.
On Oct 30, 2024, Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
Najib, 71, 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 resumes tomorrow.
