Former 1MDB CEO Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur High Court January 6, 2021. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
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KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the prime minister then was involved in Low Taek Jho’s “nefarious agenda” for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) when the government-owned firm’s subsidiary raised US$3 billion of funds in 2013, a former 1MDB CEO told the court today.
Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman, a former CEO of 1MDB from March 2013 to early January 2015, said this while being cross-examined as the 10th prosecution witness in Najib’s ongoing trial over power abuse and money laundering charges involving more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds.
Focusing on 1MDB Global Investments Limited’s (1MDB GIL) fundraising in March 2013 by taking on debts through a bond issuance of US$3 billion, Najib’s lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed quizzed the former 1MDB CEO over whether he had taken any action over his suspicions about the fundraising exercise.
Wan Aizuddin: You said you had suspicions that the fundraising exercise — something is wrong, there is some nefarious agenda by Jho Low.
Mohd Hazem: Yes, I had suspicions.
Wan Aizuddin: And you said Jho Low told you all these bond issuance is at the instructions of the prime minister.
Mohd Hazem: Yes.
Wan Aizuddin: Wouldn’t that mean the prime minister would also be involved — as per what Jho Low told you — in this nefarious agenda?
Mohd Hazem: Wouldn’t the prime minister be involved? Absolutely yes, in hindsight, yes.
Wan Aizuddin: So that is a very, very heavy accusation to say the prime minister was involved in something illegal with the company.
Mohd Hazem: Yes, to a certain extent, yes.
Wan Aizuddin: Having harboured suspicion that the then prime minister is involved in this nefarious agenda of Jho Low, you still didn’t think it is right and responsible for you as head honcho of 1MDB to go straight to him and clarify?
Mohd Hazem: No.
Wan Aizuddin then suggested that the reason why Mohd Hazem did not feel the need to clarify with and confront Najib with the suspicions that he had was because he was allegedly “playing along” with Low’s plan, but Mohd Hazem disagreed.
While having some suspicions about the fundraising exercise, Mohd Hazem confirmed he did not officially raise his suspicions to the 1MDB board, but only shared his concerns verbally with the then 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.
“At that particular time, you were basically dealing with a company that is being managed and runned by the most powerful person in Malaysia — the prime minister. And I would not even dare to report it.
“Like I told you before, it’s either you work with it or quit. You can see the example even beforehand, on the resignation of two directors,” he said. These two directors included former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.
Asked by Wan Aizuddin, Mohd Hazem later confirmed he did not lodge any report to the police or any authorities or the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Wan Aizuddin then asked “And even if not the minister of finance himself, you didn’t address your concern to the MOF Inc of the Ministry of Finance?”
Mohd Hazem then replied “You mean the same person?”
Asked again by Wan Aizuddin, Mohd Hazem confirmed he did not take the initiative of telling 1MDB’s sole shareholder MOF Inc of the Finance Ministry that there was something wrong with 1MDB and that he was being instructed by Low on company matters.
Mohd Hazem disagreed with Wan Aizuddin’s suggestion that the reason for his alleged “inaction” was that he was abetting Low in committing fraudulent activities in 1MDB.
Najib previously held these positions simultaneously — prime minister, finance minister, and also chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers.
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