FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil who is currently on the run, may have been playing "both sides".
"To me, he would hold out that matters had been decided by the board and to the board, he held out that I had directed on matters," said Najib.
He told the court that Nik Faisal, who is SRC International Sdn Bhd's former chief executive officer, was not the go-between for the company and him.
"Why didn't the board members verify matters about the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) company directly with me?
"There was no reason for me to be instructing the company's board through a certain individual. SRC was no exception to how companies under the MOF Inc umbrella were run," he said.
Najib said he was not in any position to micro-manage any MOF Inc company, including SRC.
In its civil action against Najib, SRC claimed that Najib exerted control over the board via the company's then-CEO Nik Faisal.
"During meetings with me, Nik Faisal, represented that the board had decided on the investments after deliberations and due diligence," said the former Pekan member of parliament.
He also dismissed claims by former SRC directors Tan Sri Ismee Ismail and Datuk Suboh Md Yassin, that every decision of the SRC board needed to be approved by him and his instruction would be given through Nik Faisal.
"It baffles me why the other directors of SRC including Ismee did not bother to verify things with me directly and merely accepted the word of Nik Faisal," said Najib.
"Ismee was an experienced corporate man with tremendous experience in the way government-linked companies are run.
"He had my contact number and we had met on several occasions. Never once was I asked on the matters he said Nik Faisal Ariff had represented to the board," he said.
SRC, under its new management, filed the suit in May 2021, claiming that Najib committed a breach of trust and power abuse and personally benefited from the company's funds and misappropriated the said funds.
It is also seeking a court declaration that Najib is responsible for the company's losses due to his breach of duties and trust and for Najib to pay back the RM42 million in losses that it has suffered.
Najib, 71, has been jailed since Aug 23, 2022, after he was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC funds. He was sentenced to 12 years jail and fined RM210 million.
Following a petition for a royal pardon filed on Sept 2, 2022, the Federal Territories Pardons Board on Jan 29 halved Najib’s jail term to six years, and reduced his fine to RM50 million. - September 25, 2024
