KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Akalbudi, a company owned by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had never conducted an audit and annual general meeting (AGM) or filed its financial reports with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), the High Court heard.
Mahinder Kaur, who is the company secretary, testified that to her knowledge, the company had never done all three company-related matters throughout her appointment as secretary since 2012.
It had also never called for a meeting between the board of trustees.“I was never informed of the company activities,” she said in her witness statement yesterday.
Mahinder, 65, raised the matter regarding the AGM and annual audit with Ahmad Zahid on several occasions and was told that she would be given the necessary documents for the purpose.
“However, until now, I have not received any documents to enable me to update Yayasan Akalbudi’s documents with SSM,” she said.
Earlier, the witness, who had been friends with Ahmad Zahid since 1989, said she was first appointed as a company secretary for Measurement Sdn Bhd – also owned by him – in 1993.
In 2003, while still holding the position at Measurement, Ahmad Zahid asked Mahinder to update documents for Yayasan Akalbudi.
“This meant he wanted me to become the company secretary for Yayasan Akalbudi because I would not be able to update a company’s document without being appointed its secretary.
“Zahid’s purpose in asking me to update the company document was because he knew that since the establishment of the foundation, it had never filed an AGM report or audit to SSM,” she said.
Mahinder agreed to the task but from 2003 until 2011, she could not do the update as she was not given the complete set of documents.
She said she finally received all the documents and was appointed the secretary upon Ahmad Zahid’s directive in 2012.
The court also heard that Datasonic Group Bhd’s subsidiary Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB) managed to resupply chips for Malaysian passports despite being underperformed.
Former Finance Ministry (MoF) procurement department deputy secretary Dr Uzailee Abdul Latif said
DTSB sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office to acquire a project to supply 12.5 million chips for Malaysian passports through direct talks.The application was forwarded to the Home Ministry, but a response from the ministry’s procurement department secretary Datuk Abd Aziz Md Nor said it wanted to maintain its current contract with Percetakan Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd and a company called Iris as their main suppliers for chips due to their excellent services.
Abd Aziz, in a letter, also said DTSB’s service was unreliable as there was often a delay in supplying polycarbonate, which had affected Immigration Department services.
But Uzailee said a meeting was held between DTSB, MoF, the Home Ministry and the Immigration Department on Nov 27, 2014, to get more details from DTSB on the project.“MoF wanted to evaluate DTSB on whether they could successfully deliver the project,” he added.
In June 2016, the Immigration Department experienced a shortage in the supply of international passports, prompting MoF to approve DTSB’s application through direct negotiation.
“DTSB had passed the ‘Proof of Concept’ and had received certification from the Home Ministry and Immigration Department,” he said in his witness statement.
Datasonic and DTSB were implicated in the criminal charges against Ahmad Zahid.
In one of the charges, the former deputy prime minister is accused of receiving a RM5mil cheque from a Datasonic director.
Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges – 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering – involving tens of millions of ringgit in funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
Mahinder Kaur, who is the company secretary, testified that to her knowledge, the company had never done all three company-related matters throughout her appointment as secretary since 2012.
It had also never called for a meeting between the board of trustees.“I was never informed of the company activities,” she said in her witness statement yesterday.
Mahinder, 65, raised the matter regarding the AGM and annual audit with Ahmad Zahid on several occasions and was told that she would be given the necessary documents for the purpose.
“However, until now, I have not received any documents to enable me to update Yayasan Akalbudi’s documents with SSM,” she said.
Earlier, the witness, who had been friends with Ahmad Zahid since 1989, said she was first appointed as a company secretary for Measurement Sdn Bhd – also owned by him – in 1993.
In 2003, while still holding the position at Measurement, Ahmad Zahid asked Mahinder to update documents for Yayasan Akalbudi.
“This meant he wanted me to become the company secretary for Yayasan Akalbudi because I would not be able to update a company’s document without being appointed its secretary.
“Zahid’s purpose in asking me to update the company document was because he knew that since the establishment of the foundation, it had never filed an AGM report or audit to SSM,” she said.
Mahinder agreed to the task but from 2003 until 2011, she could not do the update as she was not given the complete set of documents.
She said she finally received all the documents and was appointed the secretary upon Ahmad Zahid’s directive in 2012.
The court also heard that Datasonic Group Bhd’s subsidiary Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB) managed to resupply chips for Malaysian passports despite being underperformed.
Former Finance Ministry (MoF) procurement department deputy secretary Dr Uzailee Abdul Latif said
DTSB sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office to acquire a project to supply 12.5 million chips for Malaysian passports through direct talks.The application was forwarded to the Home Ministry, but a response from the ministry’s procurement department secretary Datuk Abd Aziz Md Nor said it wanted to maintain its current contract with Percetakan Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd and a company called Iris as their main suppliers for chips due to their excellent services.
Abd Aziz, in a letter, also said DTSB’s service was unreliable as there was often a delay in supplying polycarbonate, which had affected Immigration Department services.
But Uzailee said a meeting was held between DTSB, MoF, the Home Ministry and the Immigration Department on Nov 27, 2014, to get more details from DTSB on the project.“MoF wanted to evaluate DTSB on whether they could successfully deliver the project,” he added.
In June 2016, the Immigration Department experienced a shortage in the supply of international passports, prompting MoF to approve DTSB’s application through direct negotiation.
“DTSB had passed the ‘Proof of Concept’ and had received certification from the Home Ministry and Immigration Department,” he said in his witness statement.
Datasonic and DTSB were implicated in the criminal charges against Ahmad Zahid.
In one of the charges, the former deputy prime minister is accused of receiving a RM5mil cheque from a Datasonic director.
Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges – 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering – involving tens of millions of ringgit in funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
