No one forced KWAP officers to okay SRC International’s RM4 billion loan, court told

Bede Hong Timothy Achariam Bede Hong, Timothy Achariam Updated 7 years ago · Published on 14 May 2019 1:55PM · 7 Comments

Azlida Mazni Arshad says ideally officers should reject a loan application with incomplete documentation. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, May 14, 2019.

SRC International’s applications for RM4 billion in loans were green-lighted by mid-ranking Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) officers, who chose not to reject them despite incomplete documentation, a senior KWAP legal officer told the court today.

Azlida Mazni Arshad, vice-president of KWAP’s legal and secretarial department, told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that officers from the fixed income department were responsible for approving or rejecting applications outright, at any time.

Officers could also recommend to their superiors that the applications be rejected, she said, while cross-examined by defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh.

Azlida said that the investment panel is aware that the responsibility for approving a loan is theirs and theirs alone.

She also agreed that the panel is not bound by the instructions of any minister, or prime minister.

The defence is maintaining that KWAP officers at the fixed income department, led by the late Ahmad Norhisham, approved the RM4 billion credit facility in 2011 and 2012 without being coaxed by their higher authority.

Azlida said “ideally”, officers who received only 25% of required supporting documents would reject a loan application.

Former KWAP assistant vice-president (fixed income department) Amirul Imran Ahmat previously testified that the first SRC International RM2 billion loan, eventually made out on August 29, 2011, had only 25% of required supporting documents.

When cross-examined by Harvinderjit, Azlida agreed that officers would put a halt to questionable investments or raise the matter with their superiors if they didn’t believe the venture would be profitable.

“Decision to defer loans (is) purely sole responsibility of the panel until it is satisfied with loan criteria (from loan applicants),” she said.

Former prime minsiter Najib Razak is accused of funnelling RM42 million from SRC International into his own accounts. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, May 14, 2019.

Harvinderjit: Members of the fixed income department actually signed off the investment paper. The vice-president and the head signed off the paper. There is no compulsion for them to sign, nobody forces them to sign this. In fact, if somebody forced them, a police report would have been lodged in which it would be stated that they have been induced to sign the paper.

Azlida: Yes.

Azlida said KWAP chief Azian Mohd Noh was the secretary of the investment panel, as required by the Retirement Fund Act (Act 662) which governs KWAP.

Two members from the Finance Ministry also served on the investment panel, chaired by Mohammed Azlan Hashim, and also includes former KWAP chairman Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah, the then Treasury chief secretary, she said.

Harvinderjit asked if the investment panel could meet with loan applicants and deal with them directly and whether it could amend any recommendation in the loan paper. Azlida answered “yes” to both questions.

She also acknowledged that the investment panel had the power to disburse loans on its own terms and conditions.

Harvinderjit: If it had found that the investment paper was lacking, it can send it back to the department and say it’s lacking?

Azlida: Yes, it can do that.

Harvinderjit: If an investment in KWAP records has gone through all levels of approval, you would agree on record that process (requirements) have been met?

Azlida: Yes.

Harvinderjit: In KWAP, you have an open-door policy, where if you aren’t happy with something, you can voice it out.

Azlida: Yes.

Harvinderjit: There are no minutes in an investment panel meeting where the panel has said, “We have no choice but to give them the loan”.

Azlida: No.

Former prime minsiter Najib Razak is accused of obtaining RM42 million in gratification by abusing his position as prime minister and finance minister to secure a government guarantee for RM4 billion in loans from KWAP to SRC International Sdn Bhd.

He also faces three criminal breach of trust and three money-laundering charges. – May 14, 2019.

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Comments

  • Takut simen.

    Posted 7 years ago by Butter Scotch · Reply

  • By all means, charge the KWAP officers for approving the gigantic loan without proper documentation. There must be strong deterrence lesson to learn when u r handling public servants retirement money. That's the big problem when u have 95% Malay officers overwhelming the decision making process. All tidak apa attitudes, no accountability and limited responsibility if there is. The system coupled with the poor attitude towards accounability, responsibility,ethic and compliance would cost billions of loss year in and year out. Never learn or rather refuse to learn , better say best keep it the old way so that whoever in charge will have billions to siphone.

    Posted 7 years ago by James Wong · Reply

    • Bravo!!! Well said. The IMDB, SRC...etc big corruption cases clearly put the whole system which is dominated by the Malay is in big problem. Non Malay has to be brought into the higher ranking of the civil servants to do a more balancing checking.

      Posted 7 years ago by Anjing kawan Kucing Comel · Reply

  • It's an unfortunate incident where the power that was, was exercising tacit force to get what they wanted. Defence questioned that there was no minutes that no officer said was forced to give the approval is just a sendiwara cross examination. Everyone knows, if you question it, you would be shown the exit door immediately.

    Further, what has all this got to do with the current charges. Assumi g that the approval is 100% legitimate but the money was diverted to an improper usage, is itself the cause of this trial. Defence has nothing better to question anymore, as the loan was diverted to a personal account and couldn't rebut it as the money trail evidence is laid bare for all to see.

    Posted 7 years ago by Robert Phang · Reply

  • It's an unfortunate incident where the power that was, was exercising tacit force to get what they wanted. Defence questioned that there was no minutes that no officer said was forced to give the approval is just a sendiwara cross examination. Everyone knows, if you question it, you would be shown the exit door immediately.

    Further, what has all this got to do with the current charges. Assumi g that the approval is 100% legitimate but the money was diverted to an improper usage, is itself the cause of this trial. Defence has nothing better to question anymore, as the loan was diverted to a personal account and couldn't rebut it as the money trail evidence is laid bare for all to see.

    Posted 7 years ago by Robert Phang · Reply

  • It's an unfortunate incident where the power that was, was exercising tacit force to get what they wanted. Defence questioned that there was no minutes that no officer said was forced to give the approval is just a sendiwara cross examination. Everyone knows, if you question it, you would be shown the exit door immediately.

    Further, what has all this got to do with the current charges. Assumi g that the approval is 100% legitimate but the money was diverted to an improper usage, is itself the cause of this trial. Defence has nothing better to question anymore, as the loan was diverted to a personal account and couldn't rebut it as the money trail evidence is laid bare for all to see.

    Posted 7 years ago by Robert Phang · Reply

  • Call up all the officers and question each on them what was the basis of their okay. Either we see stupidity, failure of exercising their fiduciary duties, or vested interest. In all circumstances, they should be sacked and stripped of their pensions. How blind that they couldn't see the RM2.0 company is a scam.

    Posted 7 years ago by Concerned Citizen · Reply