KUALA LUMPUR — June 18, 2019: Former SRC International chairman Tan Sri Ismee Ismail claimed today that board members who refused to abide by minutes containing advice from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be removed or had to resign. Najib was advisor emeritus of the company.
This claim was made by Ismee during questioning by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Ishak Mohd. Yusoff.
When asked Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the witness replied that he never met Najib to discuss problems faced by the company. Instead information was only conveyed to Najib’s former special officer, (the late) Datuk Azlin Alias when he submitted his resignation letter.
Ismee further maintained that he would not have accepted his appointment if he had known about the dishonesty of then CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.
Shafee: “You have no difficulty with the board but tut trusting Nik Faisal… you had no issue trusting him at the time?”, to which Ismee said no.
Najib is charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust, one count of abusing his position and three counts of money laundering involving SRC International funds amounting to RM42 million.
In another testimony, the Cabinet’s former deputy secretary-general (Constitution and Communication) Tan Sri Mazidah Abdul Majid confirmed that there was no declaration of conflict of interest by Najib when he chaired a meeting relating to SRC International in February 2012.
Mazidah based her testimony on the minutes of the meeting to discuss a memorandum on the government’s guarantee of RM2 billion for a loan applied by the company.
In addition, none of the ministers requested Najib to leave during or prior to the discussion.
But Mazidah recalled that Najib did leave a meeting in November 2012 when the Cabinet was to discuss a memorandum regarding CIMB Bank. Najib’s brother Datuk Seri Nazir was then CIMB Group Holdings chairman.
The witness said it was the practice of ministers to declare conflict of interest and leave a meeting if they had some involvement in any matter discussed and this would be recorded in the minutes. The time when the minister rejoined the meeting was also recorded.
According Mazidah, the SRC memorandum received from the finance ministry was deliberated in two Cabinet meetings chaired by Najib, in 2011 and 2012. The memorandum was recommended to the Cabinet for consideration and approval of a guarantee to SRC International for a RM2 billion loan. — Bernama
