I wouldn't need Rizal to broker deals since my husband was PM, Rosmah tells court

KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has denied asking for millions in bribes through her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor in connection with a solar hybrid project in Sarawak.

The wife of Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the High Court here on Friday (Dec 24) that if she had wanted to do so, she could have asked for help from her husband who was then the prime minister.

"I never asked him (Rizal) to negotiate on my behalf. As far as I'm concerned, he is just a staff.

"If I had wanted it (to obtain a bribe), why do I have to go to Rizal, I've got a husband who sleeps with me. I cannot tell him to do it? Whether he (Najib) agrees or not, it is up to him," she said.

Instead, Rosmah said Najib had always reminded her not to interfere in official business or meet with those who seek "help".

She said as the wife of a leader, there were people who sought to meet her to "mengadu nasib" (express their fate) as they could not get to see Najib.

"I get letters daily and I will redirect the letters to (former special officer to Najib) Datuk Seri Siti Azizah Sheikh Abod.

"I know my limits, things that I can or cannot do. I never want to do anything that crosses the line, I'm just a housewife," she added.

Rosmah said due to Najib's advice for her not to get involved, she knew not to anger her husband by disobeying him.

"If I purposely disobeyed him, I wouldn't stay married to him for 35 years," she said.

During yesterday's proceedings, the prosecution had suggested that Rizal, who became the prosecution's crown witness, had given an accurate version of events in court.

Rosmah vehemently denied this and called Rizal "a liar through and through".

"It (his testimony) was only to (avoid) being charged in court. I only met (Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd's former managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin and consultant Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah) for two, three minutes and I'm the one who 'kena' (bears the consequences).

"He (Rizal) met them many times, (yet) he's the one who escaped," Rosmah said, referring to Rizal's acquittal in the case.

Rosmah is on trial for a charge of soliciting RM187.5mil and two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5mil from Saidi, through Rizal, involving a RM1.25bil solar hybrid project in Sarawak.

The hearing continues before Justice Mohamed Zaini on Jan 10.