KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today denied in the high court that he had pointed fingers at his former executive secretary Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly over the settlement of his personal credit card bills using Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB) cheques in order to absolve himself.
Zahid, 69, also denied that his testimony in court stating that he did not know Mazlina made credit card payments using the foundation’s cheques was a lie.
He said this when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran during the defence proceedings on 47 charges against him, namely 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering, involving tens of millions of ringgit in funds belonging to YAB.
Zahid also did not agree with Raja Rozela’s suggestion that he had the opportunity to provide an explanation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and denied his involvement in the payments for his personal credit card.
The Bagan Datuk MP also disagreed with the prosecution that his testimony in court was false because it was not the same as the statement recorded with the MACC.
Earlier during the proceedings in the morning, Zahid asserted that YAB’s decision to invest RM10 million in Armada Holdings Sdn Bhd was not recorded in the foundation’s resolution due to a mistake by the company secretary.
Zahid said before the resolution on the investment was prepared, he had held discussions about it with two trustees of the foundation.
The witness agreed with Raja Rozela that RM10 million was not a small amount and that the original purpose of the establishment of YAB was to help asnaf (zakat recipients) and the poor.
“True, Armada Holdings is not an asnaf. But it (RM10 million given to Armada Holdings) is a form of investment that will get a ‘return on investment’,” he said.
The trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on July 4. – Bernama, June 30, 2022
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