Najib Razak told the High Court he anticipated no problems appointing Nik Faisal to manage his accounts, based on a strong recommendation despite never meeting him.
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he did not anticipate any problems with his personal Ambank accounts after agreeing to appoint SRC International’s former director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as the account mandate holder in 2011.
The former premier, 72, said he accepted the appointment based on a strong recommendation from his late principal private secretary Datuk Azlin Alias. He acknowledged being aware of the potential financial risks of appointing someone he had never met personally.
“Firstly, Nik Faisal was a well-qualified accountant. Secondly, it was conveyed to me that his father, Tan Sri Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmood, a former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, was very close to my late father. On that basis, I had no objection to his appointment,” Najib said during cross-examination.
He stated the insertion of Nik Faisal’s name in the appointment letter was not in his own handwriting.
Najib was testifying in the RM42 million civil suit filed by SRC International and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd against him. When asked if he considered appointing someone more familiar like Azlin, Najib said Azlin was too busy and he relied on his recommendation.
He maintained that although the accounts were in his name, they were intended to receive donations for corporate social responsibility activities. Najib acknowledged there was no written instruction or formal declaration to the bank reflecting this specific purpose.
“The accounts were not personal in the sense of being used for my own transactions. They were in my name, but the purpose was to receive donations for CSR,” he said.
The suit, filed in 2021, seeks a declaration that Najib is liable for the receipt of RM42 million. It also claims damages for knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, misfeasance and abuse of power.
Nik Faisal, named as a third-party defendant along with five other former directors, remains at large. The hearing before Justice Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan continues.
