A BUSINESSMAN told the Rosmah Mansor corruption trial today that he had prepared a consultancy agreement for the solar hybrid project for schools in Sarawak after being told that the accused had wanted him to do so.

Consultant Tee Kien Moon, also known as Lawrence Tee, 51, said the request was made to him through Rosmah’s then aide Rizal Mansor.

The prosecution witness added that the request was made to him when he attended a meeting with Rizal and Jepak Holding’s business partner, Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, some time in May 2016.

“Rizal told me that I had to prepare a consultancy agreement for a project for the supply and installation of solar panels to over 300 schools in Sarawak.

“I said the agreement could be prepared by Jepak’s lawyer. I also told Rizal that I have never prepared such an agreement and had to get my lawyer to prepare it.

“Rizal then told me that I have to do it because ‘ma’am’ wanted me to. I did not ask him who was ‘ma’am’ but I acceded to his request because Rizal was the special officer of Rosmah Mansor,” he said.

When deputy public prosecutor Poh Yih Tinn asked Tee on who he thought “ma’am” was, the witness replied “Rosmah Mansor”.

Tee said he understood that a consultancy agreement was an agreement involving two parties whereby one provided lobbying services for a project in return for a fee from the other party if the latter party wins the said project.

Tee added that he was a busy person and needed to travel abroad, and hence had no time to prepare the said agreement. However, Rizal told him that he could get it done once he was back to Malaysia.

He said sometime later he had prepared a four-paged consultancy agreement between Lucky Victory Limited, a Taiwanese company, and Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd based on samples taken from the internet.

He said he selected Lucky Victory because he had known the company’s director and that the latter had previously carried out projects relating to timber concession with the Sarawak government.

Tee said Jepak’s managing director Saidi Abang Samsuddin and his partner Rayyan signed the agreement some time in October or November 2016.

He said that he had not been paid for preparing the agreement but reiterated that he acceded because Rizal had said that “ma’am” wanted him to do it.

He added that one “Desmond Lim”, a property developer in Malaysia had roped him into this “project”. He said he had been working with Lim since 1997.

Saidi also corroborated this when he took the stand earlier, when he said that Rosmah instructed her then aide Rizal to arrange a meeting with one “Desmond” in order to “legalise” a political donation.

In the trial’s opening statement, lead public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said the agreement was a “sham agreement meant to disguise the payment and to conceal the name of the true recipient of the money”.

Earlier today, judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan denied the defence’s application to impeach Saidi, the trial’s 17th witness, for giving conflicting statements.

Zaini said that he was not entirely convinced after analysing the matter, hence denying the application for impeachment.

Last week, defence counsel Akberdin Abdul Kader told Zaini that the defence would like to impeach Saidi as it appeared that his statements in court differed from what he had told Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Rosmah, 69, faces three corruption charges, one of which is for soliciting RM187.5 million from Saidi as inducement to help Jepak Holdings secure the solar hybrid project in Sarawak.

She is also accused of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from Saidi in 2016 and 2017.

The trial continues tomorrow. – September 7, 2020.