KUALA LUMPUR – Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has claimed in court that Yayasan Akalbudi was set up for the sole purpose of doing charity, and that he had tens of thousands of ringgit in disposable income that could be used to help others.
Taking the stand in the trial involving the foundation, the Umno president told the high court here that at the time of Yayasan Akalbudi’s formation in 1997, when it was known as Yayasan Budi, he was earning some RM120,000 a month.
Zahid said that this was from his salary, allowances and bonuses from five companies he was helming.
He was then the chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional and chief executive officer of Kertam Holding Bhd, Tekala Corporation Bhd, Ramatex Bhd and Seng Hup Bhd.
According to Zahid, of the RM120,000 he was earning monthly, he only typically spent between RM30,000 and RM40,000 for himself and his family, with the remaining money being used for charity and for other religious and welfare purposes.
“It is on this basis of doing charity and for religious reasons that I set up a foundation that was known as Yayasan Budi in 1997,” he said when reading his defence statement before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
For the record, in 1997 Zahid was also Umno Youth chief after being elected just a year earlier, and was serving in his first term as Bagan Datuk MP following his election victory in 1995.
Zahid said that during his time in the government, where he served in various ministerial portfolios until Barisan Nasional’s defeat in 2018, he was earning approximately RM50,000 a month, on top of another RM50,000 in returns from his investments.
“At the time, I had savings of more than RM2 million in my savings account in Bank Islam’s KL Sentral branch,” he said.
The Umno leader also denied ever having ordered anyone to use funds from the foundation for his own personal reasons.
Zahid has previously been reported to have allegedly opted to use Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds to pay off his personal credit card payments, motor insurance policies and road tax, choosing not to use his own personal bank account.
“Yayasan Akalbudi’s spending and liabilities are borne personally by me. The foundation is a pledge that my parents had me undertake, which I hold on to until today,” he said today.
Zahid also noted that in Islam, Muslims who are eligible to pay zakat are required to contribute at least 2.5% of their accumulated wealth for the benefit of the poor, destitute and others.
“I still hold on to what my parents told me as my life principles. As I mentioned earlier, when I was earning RM120,000 a month in the 1990s, my assumption is that the remaining income is something that I should donate for the greater good.”
Zahid, who has chosen to testify under oath, is the first witness to take the stand in the defence stage of the trial which began today and will convene for 39 days until November.
He is facing 47 charges, 12 involving criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption, and 27 for money laundering involving tens of millions ringgit belonging to the foundation.
Zahid was ordered to enter his defence on January 24 after high court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the prosecution had proven all the ingredients of the charges and had successfully made out a prima facie case against the former PM. – The Vibes, April 13, 2022
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