TWO former ministers and an ex-envoy testified to attending a meeting where the late Saudi ruler King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Saud was alleged to have offered Najib Razak a donation to help win the 2013 election, the high court heard last week.

The meeting took place in early January 2010 in Riyadh, and was witnessed by former foreign minister Anifah Aman, then Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Syed Omar Al-Saggaf and then Islamic affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom.

Syed Omar said he was later informed by Najib that King Abdullah had offered the donation to ensure Malaysia remains a model Islamic country and to curb the spread of discord following the Arab spring protests.

Jamil, a retired army maj-gen, said he saw the duo speak privately towards the end of the meeting.

He said he was made to understand that the donation from the Saudi royal family was channelled directly to Najib’s bank accounts to avoid complications.

“I was made to understand that this was to smoothen the political process for Najib and also because King Abdullah was concerned that channelling the donation into any political entity would complicate the way the fund is spent,” Jamil said.

Najib faces seven criminal charges for having received RM42 million between December 2014 and February 2015.

Anifah then testified that he told Najib that accepting the Saudi royal family’s offer of a donation was legal.

“I assured him that it did not matter since the donation was to be used for CSR (corporate social responsibility) and political purposes, and it has been a common practice in Umno for the president to be personally in charge of most of the political funds.”

He also defended his decision to not inform Parliament or the cabinet of the alleged Saudi donation, saying the donation was a “private matter” between the two.

Najib, 66, has maintained that he was under the impression that RM42 million originated from Saudi royals. 

Prosecutors said the alleged donation was, in fact, linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd and that Najib conspired with others to defraud Malaysian taxpayers.

Najib previously testified he returned US$620 million (RM2.02 billion then) in August 2013 to Tanore Corporation, which he said was controlled by the Saudi government. Investigators later revealed that the company was controlled by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low.

Najib, 66, is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution.

The trial before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali resumes tomorrow. – February 16, 2020.