Najib: Jho Low arranged my meetings with Saudi King
Wednesday, 04 Dec 20191:59 PM MYT
By NURBAITI HAMDAN and HANIS ZAINAL
image: https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2019/12/04/419252.jpg
KUALA LUMPUR: Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho was the one who arranged meetings between Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Saudi Arabia ruler King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the High Court here heard on Wednesday (Dec 4).
In his testimony, Najib said that Low – better known as Jho Low – had told him that King Abdullah admired Malaysia's ability to practice moderation in Islam and equality between Muslims and non-Muslims.
The meetings between the former prime minister and King Abdullah took place during a series of visits to Riyadh and Jeddah.
"According to Jho Low, King Abdullah wanted to confer me with the highest civilian honour in Saudi Arabia, which was the King Abdulaziz Order of Merit (1st Class)," he said.
The award had been previously conferred on former US president Barack Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Reading from his 243-page witness statement during examination-in-chief by lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohamad, Najib said he received the award in January 2010.
Najib added that Low then told him in mid-2010 that King Abdullah wanted to support to Najib's leadership in the form of personal donations.
"From 2011 until 2014, I received a huge amount of money that I believed was a donation from King Abdullah as a sign of his support. Jho Low was the connection in the matter and I believed he arranged the donations for the Saudi royal family," he said.
Najib said that he and recipient bank AmBank received several letters about the donations, and these were in line with the donations.
Wan Aizuddin: When Jho Low first raised the issue about donations, were you told how much it would be?
Najib: There was no specific amount but Jho Low said it could be between US$100mil and US$200mil.
Wan Aizuddin: Were you not surprised with such a huge amount?
Najib: It may seem a lot, but I know that the Saudi royal family is known for their generosity where they had donated a huge sum of money to various foundations in the US, including the Clinton Foundation and other countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine as part of their foreign relations and diplomatic policy.
Najib is facing seven charges – three for criminal breach of trust, one for abuse of power and three for money laundering involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds totalling RM42mil.
The hearing continues before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali this afternoon.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/12/04/najib-jho-low-arranged-my-meetings-with-saudi-king#oc08tMq9XA0xiXZd.99
Najib at SRC trial: Late Saudi monarch donated the money to ensure M'sia's stability
Wednesday, 04 Dec 20195:46 PM MYT
By HANIS ZAINAL and NURBAITI HAMDAN
KL30_221019_SRC
KUALA LUMPUR: The donation from Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah Al Saud, was to ensure that Malaysia can become the model of a stable and modern Islamic country, Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the High Court here.
The former prime minister said this after being showed several transactions showing funds being transferred into his AmBank bank account ending with 694 between 2011 and 2013 during the examination-in-chief by counsel Rahmat Hazlan at his SRC International Sdn Bhd trial on Wednesday (Dec 4).
Najib said that the funds were given by King Abdullah to be used at his own discretion.
"As the Umno president and the Barisan Nasional chairman, I have been given the power to raise funds for the party and for expenses related to the general election. This was a practice among past presidents and chairmen as well.
"King Abdullah knew that there would be a general election in 2013. It seemed as if he (King Abdullah) did not want the negative impact of the Arab Spring to affect Malaysia; especially as he had a positive view of the country as an example of a country that practises the real meaning of Islam," he said.
When asked by Rahmat what were the funds used for in general, Najib said that some were used for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives while some were used to fund the Barisan election machinery.
"I have used part of it for CSR initiatives and part of it were used to fund the Barisan general election machinery to ensure that Barisan stayed on as the ruling government.
"This ensures political stability and it's in line with what King Abdullah wanted," he added.
Najib is facing seven charges; three for criminal breach of trust, one for abuse of power and three for money laundering involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds totalling RM42mil.
The hearing continues before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali on Monday (Dec 9).
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/12/04/najib-at-src-trial-late-saudi-monarch-donated-the-money-to-ensure-m039sia039s-stability#RRKWQ9Jf1rfzShr6.99
