NAJIB Razak had instructed and paid for a news portal to be set up to provide alternative news and combat fake news, a witness told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

The 16th witness at Najib’s SRC International trial, Onn Hafiz, 41, said his company Vital Spire ran MalaysianDigest.com on the former prime minister’s instructions.

The Johor Umno politician and great-grandson of Onn Jaafar added that the now-defunct news portal covered international and local news, as well as business, entertainment and sports on a daily basis.

“We wanted to give a balanced news for the general public, and combat fake news,” he said.

Onn said he received a cheque of RM240,000 from Najib on January 30, 2015 made to Vital Spire. He added that the cheque was cashed at the CIMB branch in Bukit Damansara, where his company is located.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi: What is the purpose of the website?

Onn: The purpose of the website is to disseminate news.

Saifuddin: The orders to set up the website were from whom?

Onn: It was set up on the direction of Najib. I met him in PM’s office.

Saifuddin: Met him alone or in a group?

Onn: Alone.

Later to a question from Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on the relationship between the web portal and Vital Spire, Onn said the company owned the portal.

Onn also said the portal also carried contents that promoted government policies.

He said there were 12 people on the team who would decide the editorial content.

The site was closed last July, a month after Najib and Barisan Nasional was defeated in the general election. – April 23, 2019.