SUBOH Md Yassin’s testimony in Najib Razak’s SRC International Sdn Bhd trial on Friday marked the first time a witness spoke of fearing for his life, pointing to the reach the former prime minister had.

The 68-year-old Suboh told the court, in the trial’s seventh week, that he was so afraid after news of the scandal broke that he fled to Bangkok, Thailand, with his wife.

“I was fearful about what was happening and of Najib, who was in power as prime minister then. I did not know what would happen to me and my family,” he testified.

The former SRC International non-executive director told the court that he also received a phone call from an unidentified officer at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in mid-2015.

The 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal had just broke, and investigators had begun raiding premises and banks related to its subsidiary, SRC International.

Also advising him to leave the country was former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who remains a fugitive to this day.

Suboh is the prosecution’s 42nd witness. He appeared frail, using a cane, and told the court that he was unwell from a heart condition.

Najib, who stands trial on seven criminal charges, including three counts of money-laundering, after receiving RM42 million in his personal bank accounts, was expressionless throughout Suboh’s testimony.

Suboh said it was in Bangkok that he met a Thai man who offered him plane tickets to Abu Dhabi. He said he stayed at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi for more than a week, with all expenses paid. He later returned to Bangkok, and then, Kuala Lumpur.

In Malaysia, Suboh said he was contacted by Nik Faisal, who again told him to flee to evade the authorities. This happened after the 14th general election. Suboh said he chose to remain to “assist enforcement officers”.

He surrendered to MACC in June last year, and has been under witness protection ever since at an undisclosed location.

After the May 9 polls last year, MACC reopened investigations into SRC International, its second after the 2015 probe.

When the SRC International trial resumes on July 1, defence lawyers are expected to deconstruct the chronology of events, as Friday’s testimony appeared to show that Suboh did not spend three years in Bangkok or elsewhere overseas.

The cross-examination will also likely focus on his motivation to flee, as well as his claims that Nik Faisal and Najib were in total control of SRC International.

Suboh testified that he did not play much of a role in many of the proposals and transactions, which he said could not proceed without Nik Faisal, who served as the “link” to Najib, who simultaneously served as adviser emeritus to SRC International.

Suboh also told the court that Nik Faisal referred to Najib whenever a reference was made to the “higher-up” who wanted major proposals or transactions expedited.

He said when he was director from 2011 to 2015, he was unable to make any decision as all matters were brought to Najib by Nik Faisal.

An example of this, he said, was the board’s decision to expedite a RM250 million grant to Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, which was appointed on September 3, 2014 to carry out SRC International’s corporate social responsibility programmes.

“I raised questions about company rules and issues relating to compliance because the RM250 million involved the use of SRC International funds,” he told the court.

But Nik Faisal had allegedly said “It will be taken care of”, and added that the matter had been approved by “pihak atas” (a higher-up).

“In my opinion, ‘pihak atas’, as mentioned by Nik Faisal, was a reference to Najib, who was adviser emeritus to SRC International,” said Suboh.

Najib appointed himself as adviser emeritus

Former SRC International chairman Ismee Ismail testified earlier last week that Najib had added a clause in SRC International’s constitution to make himself adviser emeritus, effectively giving him control of the board.

The amendment was tabled by the then prime minister in an extraordinary general meeting on April 23, 2012.

Ismee said the board, which he chaired from 2011 to 2014, trusted Nik Faisal, who served as the “link” between the entity and Najib.

He also clashed with the defence on the interpretation of the minutes of a meeting between Nik Faisal and Najib on September 7, 2011.

The meeting discussed the deposit of RM1.8 billion in SRC International funds into banks in Switzerland and Hong Kong after the entity received its first loan disbursement in mid-2011.

The meeting between Nik Faisal and Najib occurred about a week after Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) disbursed its first loan of RM2 billion to SRC International.

At that meeting, Najib allegedly approved a deposit of RM1.5 billion into Swiss bank BSI Ltd and another RM300 million into Julius Baer Group in Hong Kong. The money was from KWAP’s first loan to SRC International, which was made out on August 29, 2011.

The minutes’ veracity is being disputed, and presiding judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali has agreed not to file it as evidence yet.

The Finance Ministry’s strategic investment division deputy secretary, Afidah Azwa Abdul Aziz, testified that SRC International still owes KWAP RM4.15 billion in principal debt plus interest for unpaid government-guaranteed loans issued in 2011 and 2012.

She said the debt will be settled by 2022, or 10 years after the second credit facility of RM2 billion was disbursed.

“Up till now, the government is still paying the loan debt from KWAP to SRC International, and this will continue until the principal debt plus interest are fully settled.”

Afidah said SRC International owes the government RM650 million after the Finance Ministry bailed out the entity three times following its failure to settle its debt in time.

She said the government issued a loan agreement of RM92 million on November 6, 2015, standby credit of RM250 million – of which RM213 million was used – on September 27, 2016 and loan agreement of RM300 million on December 13, 2017.

The former prime minister stands accused of criminal breach of trust, money-laundering and power abuse in relation to RM4 billion in loans issued to SRC International in 2011 and 2012, from which he is said to have received RM42 million in his personal accounts in 2014 and 2015.

Najib, 66, faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money-laundering and one count of abuse of power.

He is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution, and Nazlan is the sitting judge. – June 23, 2019.