KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court here today that it was reasonable for him to believe the monies he received in his personal AmIslamic bank account was a donation from the King of Saudi Arabia, the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Najib, the former prime minister and minister of finance, said that in a monarchy like Saudi Arabia where the King held the highest authority, it was reasonable for him to believe that King Abdullah had instructed the Riyadh Ministry of Finance to disburse funds on his behalf as a donation.
“Therefore, to suggest that these funds are not directly from King Abdullah’s personal account but from the Riyadh Ministry of Finance is nonsensical because to me, they reflect the intentions and authority of King Abdullah himself.
“Besides receiving funds from the Riyadh Ministry of Finance, I also received a total of RM311,122,245.94 from the grandson of King Abdullah, Prince Faisal and another royalty, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Likewise, it is reasonable for me to believe that King Abdullah directed his grandson to pay those donations to me through his account,“ he said.
Today marks the ninth day the former Pekan MP has taken the stand to defend himself against four charges of using his position to obtain RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds in bribes and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
Meanwhile, in response to a question from his counsel Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, Najib stated that since the remittances originated from a joint bank account of the distinguished royal family (joint account of Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Bandar Al Saud and Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud), it was evident that he had no reason to believe the funds came from illegitimate sources.
Wan Azwan Aiman: King Abdullah was the reigning monarch at the time. Can you explain how Saudi Arabia’s system of government differs, if at all, from Malaysia’s?
Najib: The fundamental difference in the Saudi system is that the entire structure revolves around the monarch, who holds absolute power. Any decision made by the government must have his blessings, and I believe no one would dare to go against his wishes, as punishments in Saudi Arabia are very severe.
The former premier also explained on the 11th charge under Section 4(1)(a) of Anti-Money Laundering Act brought to him, where he said the RM20 million cheque issued to UMNO to support the party’s administrative preparations and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
“It is crucial to emphasise that this allocation was not for Najib Razak personally but was intended to ensure that UMNO, as Malaysia’s largest political party could operate effectively and fulfill its responsibilities to the rakyat.
“Through the funds received from my AmIslamic account, UMNO would be able to continue to carry out a variety of impactful CSR programs, which in fact they did, some of them including the aid during the severe floods in Kelantan in December 2013 and the establishment of rural infrastructure improvements,“ he said.
The 71-year-old former politician added the issuance of the cheque is consistent with the assurance given to him by the late King Abdullah that the donations were to be utilized for political and community-related purposes.
On Oct 30, Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence on all 25 charges after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against the former Pekan MP on all the charges at the end of the prosecution’s case.
The trial continues tomorrow.
