‘Procedure was not followed’

Day in court: Rosmah leaving court after attending her corruption trial at the High Court In Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The solar hybrid project by Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd was the first project that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had personally ordered a letter of award (LOA) based on a company’s demand, the High Court heard yesterday.

Finance Ministry (Treasury) deputy secretary-general Datuk Othman Semail told the court that Najib did not consult the Government Procurement Division before instructing the then education minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid to issue an LOA to Jepak Holdings.

“From my experience being in the division since 2005, this it the only case where Najib had ordered his (Cabinet) minister to issue an LOA based on a company’s demand, ” said Othman, who was the Finance Ministry’s government procurement division chief under the previous administration.

(The court had earlier heard from Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad, who was the former Education Ministry secretary-general, that Najib did not consult Mahdzir on the solar hybrid project before sending him instructions dated June 7,2016, on the matter.

Madinah said the minutes (notes) by Najib in Mahdzir referred to an earlier instruction by Najib, scribbled on a Jepak Holdings letter dated Nov 23,2015, to adopt the new system (solar hybrid) and to cancel the old system (diesel genset).

Othman who is the seventh prosecution witness in Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s corruption trial said his division at the time did not take any action on the Education Ministry for issuing the LOA.

This, he said, was because the LOA had already been issued and a contract between the ministry and Jepak Holdings had already been signed.

Othman also told the court there was no value management done for the project despite it being compulsory for projects costing more than RM50mil.

“There was no negotiation made between the Education Ministry and Jepak Holdings to obtain the best price before the LOA was issued, ” he said, adding the RM1.25bil cost of the project was set by Jepak Holdings without the input from the Education Ministry.

Othman said without negotiations for the best price, the project carried risks as it was using public funds.

“One of the implications is that the Malaysian government will not get the best benefits for the amount of money spent, ” he said.

He also told the court the Education Ministry had to pay an interim payment of more than RM92mil to Jepak Holdings in 2017 as the company threatened to stop the diesel supply to 369 rural schools in Sarawak that were relying on diesel gensets.

Othman also recalled two men visiting him at his office to inquire about the status of the application for the project.

“As far as I know, one of the men was named Saidi and the other one I did not recognise, and I don’t remember when it happened but it was before the LOA was issued, ” he said.

He added that he did not remember what was said between him and the two men: “I don’t remember whether I scolded them but I always scold contractors who don’t carry out their duties well and those who ask for so many things from me.”

Earlier, Madinah testified that Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, who is the business partner of Jepak Holdings managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin, threatened to expose Najib and his wife’s involvement in the solar hybrid project to the then-Opposition.

Madinah said Rayyan had told her this to ensure that she helped him wrestle the contract for the solar hybrid project from Saidi, after he and Saidi’s relationship turned sour.

“Between Oct or Nov 2017 and May 2018, Rayyan had bombarded me with messages on WhatsApp, until I started to ignore the messages (due to the large volume).

“From the messages, I found that Rayyan has had a misunderstanding with Saidi and now was trying to snatch the contract for the solar hybrid project from Saidi, ” she said.

She added that Rayyan also claimed Saidi had acted fraudulently in relation to the contract, such as changing the original terms of the contract and filing false claims.

“The reason Rayyan was telling me all this was that he wanted my help to meet the prime minister to snatch the contract from Saidi and Jepak Holdings.

“Rayyan said that he will reveal the involvement of the prime minister and ‘ma’am’ in relation to the acquisition of the solar hybrid project contract to the (then) Opposition if I didn’t help him, ” she said.

She added that she did not entertain Rayyan’s messages.

The court then heard that Madinah, as Auditor-General, had in 2018 asked her officers to audit the payments that the Education Ministry had made to Jepak Holdings based on Rayyan’s allegations.

The trial continues before High Court judge Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan today.