KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — The High Court judge hearing Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s trial today questioned why two cheques totalling RM6 million were sent to charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi — where Zahid is a trustee — if the money was intended as a “political donation”.
Ahmad Zahid’s lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh responded by saying that the businessman who had donated the RM6 million had viewed “political donation” and “charitable donation” to be the same thing.
Hamidi was presenting arguments in court today on why Ahmad Zahid should be freed from two corruption charges involving the RM6 million cheques.
Under these two bribery charges, Ahmad Zahid is accused of having on April 26, 2017 corruptly received gratification from Datasonic Group Berhad’s director Chew Ben Ben in the form of two cheques issued by Sarana Kencana Sdn Bhd for RM5 million and RM1 million respectively as “reward”.
In these two charges, Ahmad Zahid was also alleged as having as home minister performed a transaction where Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd was appointed to supply Malaysian passport chips for five years through a direct negotiation between the latter company and the Home Ministry.
Today, Hamidi listed six reasons on why the defence was arguing that the prosecution cannot prove a prima facie case or sufficient case that would require Ahmad Zahid to enter his defence on these two charges.
Hamidi said the first reason was that two prosecution witnesses — Datasonic Group Berhad senior officials — had told the court that the RM6 million are not “rewards” or bribes or corrupt monies.
The first of these witnesses is Datasonic Group Berhad’s then chief executive officer Datuk Abu Hanifah Noordin (32nd prosecution witness) who was also director of family business Sarana Kencana, while the second witness mentioned is Datasonic Group Berhad’s then deputy managing director Chew Ben Ben (34th prosecution witness). Abu Hanifah retired from Datasonic Group Berhad on January 31, 2020, while Chew resigned from the same company in March 2021.
Alluding to Chew’s testimony in court that the two corruption charges against Ahmad Zahid are slanderous, Hamidi said it was “ridiculous” for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to file charges and for a witness to then come to court and say that such charges are “fitnah” or slanderous.
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah then asked for clarification, asking if a witness would be exposing himself if he agreed that there were corrupt practices, “Wouldn’t he be inclined to distance himself from corrupt practices?”
Hamidi then replied: “We submit because there is no corruption, the witness came to court and said it as it is — It is a fitnah. When they give the money, they did not intend to give it as corrupt money.”
Chew had previously told the court that he had in April 2017 handed over the two cheques totalling RM6 million to Ahmad Zahid in the latter’s official residence as deputy prime minister then, and had also told the court that the money was meant as “political donations to Barisan Nasional through Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi”.
Today, Hamidi said the two cheques were both made payable to law firm Lewis & Co’s client account, asserting that the law firm was holding the RM6 million on trust for the charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
Hamidi said Abu Hanifah had previously told the court that the RM6 million was a political donation which he also considered as being for charitable donation, and that was why the funds were given to Yayasan Akalbudi via Lewis & Co.
At this point, the judge asked: “If it is meant as political donation, why would the money be channelled to Yayasan Akalbudi?”
The judge also asked: “What do you mean political donation is also charitable donation?”
Hamidi replied: “He said ‘it is a political donation, I would say also charitable donation’. So for him, he says it is interchangeable, that’s why he said, nevermind, let’s go to Yayasan Akalbudi.”
Hamidi went on to say that whether it was a charitable or political donation, the question that needed to be answered was whether the RM6 million cheques were a “bribe, corruption money, gratification”. He however argued that the money was not a bribe.
In this trial, Zahid ― who is a former home minister and currently the Umno president ― is facing 47 charges, namely 12 counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, 27 counts of money laundering, and eight counts of bribery charges.
The trial resumes tomorrow.
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from Malay Mail - Malaysia
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