NEWLY elected Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today spent almost nine hours having his statement recorded in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal, at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Putrajaya.

He looked tired but managed to smile when he emerged at 6.35pm, after being questioned by MACC officers.

It is learnt the former deputy prime minister was grilled on his meeting with a representative of the Saudi king who allegedly made the RM2.6 billion “donation” found in the personal bank account of Najib Razak.

“I believe that all questions on 1MDB have been answered today. So tomorrow I will be here again to answer questions on Yayasan Akal Budi,” Zahid told reporters.

He said today’s session took many hours because the investigators had previously only been informed by media reports about his meeting with the representative of the rich Arab donor.

“They wanted to know the details because previously the information only came from media. I am confident that 1MDB issue will be solved by the MACC in time because it has been widely speculated by the people,” he said.

Zahid in August 23, 2015 said he had met the wealthy Arab who had donated the US$700 million found in then party president Najib Razak’s personal bank account.

Zahid said the Arab, whom he did not name, had donated the money because Malaysia was committed to fighting terrorism and was a model moderate Muslim country with a plural society

He was also reported to have said that he met with the investment officer of the wealthy Arab family, who had explained to Zahid that the first US$100 million was given via a cheque made out to Najib, and the remainder through other channels.

“I saw the documents myself – the original documents, not photostated ones, and I also saw the money trail,” he had added.

He had assured the people that the donation was 100% from the Arab family and not from Retirement Fund Inc or 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

On the MACC investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds of a charity foundation run by his family, Zahid said he would answer questions in connection with the case tomorrow.

The Islamic charity foundation called Yayasan Akal Budi was set up with personal donations from Zahid, who is the chairman, and his close friends.

“The foundation does charity work such as building mosques, tahfiz schools and orphanages,” he had said in a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.

It was reported that Zahid would be asked to explain claims that RM800,000 in foundation funds was used to pay his and his wife’s credit card bills.

According to The Star, the foundation was registered in 1997 and its mission is to receive and administer funds to eradicate poverty. – July 2, 2018.