KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today was told that the name of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, was not found in any cabinet minutes of meeting during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
Former deputy chief secretary (cabinet) Tan Sri Mazidah Abdul Majid said this during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib in the former prime minister’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial.
Earlier, the 11th prosecution witness was asked to check the volume of minutes to see whether Jho Low’s name was ever mentioned.
Akram: Based on all these documents before you, was Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, ever mentioned?
Mazidah: No.
Akram: Did Najib mention to the cabinet that Jho Low had helped secure the donation from a Saudi prince for 1MDB?
Mazidah: I can’t remember, but if Najib did mention Jho Low, it would have been in the meeting minutes. However, Jho Low’s name does not appear in the minutes.
When cross-examined by Najib’s counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the 72-year-old witness said that she heard of Jho Low only when the 1MDB issue cropped up.
Shafee: Have you heard of Jho Low before?
Mazidah: It is a household name.
Najib, 67, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds, and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah will continue on Monday. – Bernama, February 11, 2021
