NAJIB Razak’s SRC International trial enters its fifth day today with two key witnesses – AmBank officer Badrul Hisam Mohamad and Affin Bank officer Nimma Safira Khalid – expected to take the stand.

Badrul, 45, worked at the cheque-processing centre between 1994 and 2013. He worked at AmBank Islamic, which was a centre to resolve complaints issues.

Those documents were handed over to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission weeks after Pakatan Harapan won federal power at the 14th general election last May.

Nimma was the Affin Bank officer who handed over documents to the trial’s third witness, Muhammad Nizam Yahya, an investigating officer with the central bank’s Financial Intelligence and Enforcement Department.

Yesterday, the prosecution and defence sparred over the procurement of additional documents related to communications between three AmBank relationship managers – Joanna Yu, Daniel Lee and Krystle Yap – and 10 individuals, including Low Taek Jho and other former 1Malaysia Development Bhd lawyers.

The 10 are Low, commonly known as Jho Low; former SRC International CEO and director Nik Faisal Nik Ariff Kamil; former director Jerome Lee Tak Loong; former 1MDB finance executive director Terence Geh Choh Heng; former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan; former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi; former SRC International CEO and president Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin; former 1MDB CEO Ismee Ismail; former SRC International director Suboh Md Yasin and See Yok Peng.  

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ruled that communications previously not included as evidence must be reproduced by Bank Negara investigating officer Ahmad Farhan Sharifuddin.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

4.55pm: The judge allows the trial to continue at 9am on Monday.

4.54pm: Shafee: Was installing the tank a necessity or a luxury?

Zakariya: It had to be done.

Zakariya is excused from the stand.

4.51pm: DPP Saifuddin: What did you do with the cheque?

Zakariya: I banked it in.

Saifuddin: What happened to the money?

Zakariya: I’ve finished it.

4.42pm: Zakariya is shown an invoice, stating a sum of RM56,500, to verify to the court. He is also asked to verify the cheque issued to him, stating the same amount.

4.40pm: Zakariya says he has been on the Syabas panel since 2008, and does maintenance work, such as fixing pipes, for Syabas in Kuala Lumpur and Gombak.

He says he received a call from Syabas, informing him of water disruption at Najib’s house. He says he went to the house to check, and suggested that the tank be changed.

4.36pm: The next witness is Mohamad Zakariya Zearat Khan, who runs plumbing company MOZ Malaysia and did some plumbing work at Najib’s Langgak Duta residence.

He says he was commissioned to change a 6,000l fibre tank in early 2015, and the final figure of the quotation given to Najib was RM56,500.

4.34pm: Zulkarnain is excused from the stand.

4.23pm: “Once I got the cheque amounting to RM100,000, I banked the amount into my account. I wrote my name and account number at the back of the cheque,” says Zulkarnain.

DPP Saifuddin asks: “So, you banked in the cheque?”

Zulkarnain replies, “We work for it… So, when we get money, we bank it in”, eliciting laughter in the courtroom.

Saifuddin: Do you remember which bank you went to?

Zulkarnain: Maybank Setia Alam.

Shafee: Did you see any tents erected, or functions, when you were there (at Najib’s house)?

Zulkarnain: I didn’t see them… but once, there were orphans who came to the house.

Shafee: How do you know they were orphans?

Zulkarnain: They were dressed in white.

Again, the courtroom breaks out in laughter.

Zulkarnain adds that he carried out the work in August 2014.

4.22pm: Zulkarnain says he did not work when Najib was at home, only when the ex-PM had left the house.

4.18pm: Zulkarnain says he quoted “RM234,000 or RM243,000” for the project, and cannot remember the right figure. He says the cabinet he built was for storing clothes, but he did not know whose clothes.

4.10pm: Zulkarnain testifies that he was commissioned to build a store, pantry, rack and cabinet at Najib’s Langgak Duta home.

3.53pm: Justice Nazlan rules that it is relevant to criminal breach of trust under the Penal Code, and Section 4(2) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, and allows the witness to be examined.

“I find evidence of the spending to be relevant to the case.”

3.43pm: Thomas says every time the defence thinks there will be damning evidence against them, they raise objections, and this is not right.

“If we cannot call witnesses, the case will be stymied.”

3.21pm: Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi says the witness’ testimony will show the accused was aware he was committing an unlawful activity.

3.17pm: Shafee says the money spent is irrelevant to the case, which only involves the receipt of the funds.

3.14pm: Defence lawyer Farhan Read raises a preliminary objection for the witness not to take the stand. He argues that Zulkarnain’s testimony is not admissible, as it does not pass the threshold required by Section 5 of the Evidence Act. Farhan says the charges against Najib only involve him taking the money, and not giving the money, hence, the witness is not legally relevant.

“This witness cannot determine whether the accused has committed actus reus and mens rea.”

3.08pm: Badrul leaves the stand. Designer Zulkarnain Mohamad, 46, from ABS Trend Master Sdn Bhd, which received RM100,000 from Najib’s accounts, is called up as the sixth prosecution witness. ABS Trend Master is a kitchen cabinet company.

2.38pm: Harvinderjit continues to cross-examine Badrul on the transactions involving Najib’s accounts with AmBank.

2.29pm: Proceedings resume with Sithambaram making an application to the judge for the trial to not be held tomorrow as both the defence and prosecution have prior engagements. Shafee agrees with the application. Both parties have a meeting, and Thomas says it is important because they are going to discuss the separation of powers of the A-G and government, so members of his team have to attend it.

12.55pm: After more than an hour or cross-examining Badrul, the court breaks for lunch.

11.25am: Court resumes with defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh cross-examining Badrul about the finer points of the cheque-processing centre.

10.25am: Some of the cheques issued from Najib’s account from various dates are as follows:

* Umno Johor Baru – RM300,000 (February 26, 2015)

* Rumah Penyayang Tun Abdul Razak – RM400,000 (February 12, 2015)

* Law firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak – RM3.5 million (January 21, 2015)

* Ihsan Perdana – RM20 million (December 12, 2014)

Bardrul said the last cheque had two signatures, signifying that it was made out by a company. He verified that a cheque dated December 12, 2014, was made out by SRC International.

10.12am: Saifuddin is verifying cheques and cheque images issued from Najib’s AmBank account 202-201190-6. 

10am: Badrul was asked to verify a cheque made out to Centre for Strategic Engagement Sdn Bhd on February 8, 2015 for RM300,000.

He said the cheque was cashed.

9.40am: Badrul testifies that cheques typically expire after six months and that unclaimed monies are kept for three years before being transferred to a consolidated trust account. 

Bank Negara assigns a bank branch code – 211 – to the AmBank branch in Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.

9.30am: Suhaimi questions the witness, who explains about the verification system used by PayNet or Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a “middleman” for transfers between banks.

9.23am: Badrul Hisam Mohamad explains the bank’s cheque-processing system, including forms and signature verification.

9.10am: The court is in session. Prosecution comprise of V. Sithambaram and Suhaimi Ibrahim while Attorney-General Tommy Thomas is not present.

8.45am: Najib arrives in court, dressed in dark blue suit. – April 18, 2019.