FORMER education minister Mahdzir Khalid identified the voices of former prime minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor when the Kuala Lumpur High Court heard an audio clip released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission last month. 

Lead prosecutor for Rosmah’s corruption trial, Gopal Sri Ram, asked the court to play the audio recording because he wanted Mahdzir to identify the male and female voice in the clip. 

The defence then objected to the prosecution’s request. 

Rosmah’s lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader said playing the audio clip without prior notice was unprecedented and that the court should not allow it. 

High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said the court has the right to play the audio, as stated under the Section 136 (2) of the Evidence Act. 

The defence argued for almost 10-minutes against playing the audio clip, saying that the provision was too general. 

Gopal Sri Ram said the clip is being played to identify the voices, and nothing more. 

Judge Zaini eventually allowed the audio to be played. 

The clip was played briefly, where the male voice was heard saying “Yes anything?”, followed by the female voice responding “Can I advise you something?” 

Mahdzir said the male voice was of Najib and the female voice was Rosmah. 

This recording was one out of nine clips MACC released last month as the graft-busting body believed they shed light on how the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal unfolded. 

MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya had said the recordings involved Najib, Rosmah, former Umno politician and ex-Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, former MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad, Najib’s former aide Shukry Salleh and two high-ranking people from the UAE.

Rosmah faces three corruption charges, one of which is for soliciting RM187.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin as inducement to help the company secure a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

She is also accused of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from Saidi in 2016 and 2017. – February 10, 2020.