THE defence in Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial today suggested that it was not the accused but the Terengganu sultan who had the idea to establish the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).

Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning disputed prosecution witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin’s statement that TIA – the precursor to 1MDB –  was “Najib’s baby”. 

Referring to the minutes of a cabinet meeting on December 12, 2008, when Najib was deputy prime minister, Shafee said the record showed then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying that TIA was proposed by the then Terengganu ruler Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who was then the Yang di-Pertuan Agong .

He referred again to the minutes which showed Najib informing the cabinet that TIA was “diilhamkan” (inspired) by Sultan Mizan.

“The cabinet was informed that the establishment of TIA would be good for Terengganu as it would generate revenue for the coming generations when the state runs out of oil,” said Shafee.

TIA was started with RM10 billion seed money, including a RM5 billion bond guarantee and funds from Terengganu’s oil revenue of RM1.5 billion annually. 

Earlier, Amhari said he had been under the impression that TIA was Najib’s “baby” and disagreed with the suggestion that it was the sultan’s.

Shafee: You said TIA was the baby of Datuk Seri Najib. Can you explain precisely what is the meaning of such a description?

Amhari: I mean this was something that was inspired and that he has linkage with a certain project. That is what I meant. Something that is close with someone. Something Datuk Seri wants to carry and is important for him.

Shafee: That is what you meant? TIA is the baby of Najib?

Amhari: Yes. It is his baby and I do not know if it is his idea. It could.  

Shafee: Since when it became his idea?

Amhari: Since when he wanted to carry this as part of his product (line-up), from when he became prime minister.

Amhari later disagreed with Shafee’s suggestion that TIA was the brainchild of Sultan Mizan, not Najib.

Shafee showed minutes of a cabinet meeting, dated December 19, 2008, during when the ministers were informed of a TIA steering committee meeting.

He said documents showed that Amhari part of the TIA secretariat, to which the witness replied he has no recollection recording the minutes of TIA steering committee meeting.

The witness was also shown a draft proposal tabled by Low Taek Jho, prior to when TIA was mandated in February 2009.

Amhari agreed with the suggestion that Low was involved with TIA “early on”.

According to Amhari’s written witness statement, he and Low attended a meeting with Sultan Mizan in Kuala Lumpur at the end of 2008. Also present was an Aziz, the husband of Tengku Rahimah Almarhum Sultan Mahmud, the sultan’s sister.

“At the casual meeting, Low spoke about the proposal to establish TIA. The king took note of the proposal but did not arrive at any decision,” Amhari said in his statement.

It was during the meeting that Low told the witness that he was adviser to the then Agong, a claim the Terengganu palace later denied.

Najib faces 25 charges – four counts of abusing his position to gain for himself RM2.3 billion and a further 21 counts of money-laundering relating to the same amount.

The 66-year-old faces up to 20 years imprisonment if found guilty.

He is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Shafee.

Gopal Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, leads the prosecution while Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah presides. – September 17, 2019.