This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 11, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The fourth witness in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd trial, former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Professor Datuk Syed Omar Alsagoff, told the court yesterday he was informed by the former premier — and not by the palace — of the purpose of the Saudi donation.

Responding to questions from ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram, the witness said he was told by Najib after he had a private meeting with King Abdullah that the donation was to be used for election purposes.

Sithambaram: In your witness statement, you clearly stated that the money was for assisting the government in winning the election — for the same government to stay in power. Is this correct?

Syed Omar: I only know that King Abdullah expressed his support. I don’t know what happened after that. Datuk Seri Najib told me that the funds were to be used for the election, not the palace.

Sithambaram: So you did not hear King Abdullah saying the money was for the election?

Syed Omar: No.

Sithambaram: You personally did not hear what they say to each other and you have no personal knowledge of the fact that it is for the election.

Syed Omar: No.

Sithambaram: So whether this was true or not, you don’t know.

Syed Omar: I don’t know.

The prosecution also asked him about the details of the purported donation received from the king, but the witness said he does not have that information.

He does not know about the total donations received by Najib, as well as the donation letters from the member of Saudi royalty which were sent to the former premier at the material time.

Sithambaram also asked the witness if the royal family expects recipients of donations to return the unused balance and Syed Omar said he has never heard of such cases.

The prosecution also pointed out that the donations received by Najib were labelled as loans in the documents and asked if the witness was surprised by this, to which Syed Omar said he was.

During examination-in-chief by lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the witness testified that King Abdullah and Najib shared a close bond and recalled that the former premier, while carrying out his haj pilgrimage, received a telephone call from the ruler, who was in Riyadh.

He also said Najib once received a piece of kiswah cloth, a special gift from the king.

The kiswah is the gold thread-embroidered cloth used to drape the Kaabah at the Great Mosque of Mecca. Every year, the old cloth is removed and cut into small pieces to be given to visiting foreign Muslim dignitaries and organisations.

Syed Omar also noted that Najib was granted an audience with the king every time the former premier visited the kingdom and said it is rare for foreign ministers to be granted an audience with King Abdullah. The witness was released following the conclusion of examination yesterday.

The defence said it intends to call former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom as its next witness, as well as former foreign affairs minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

Najib is battling seven counts of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC, a former unit of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The trial resumes today.