KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was no fool; she was far too clever and wily to make the demands of bribery totalling millions in the RM1.25bil solar hybrid project in Sarawak herself, the High Court found.
In the written judgment by Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, the court found Rosmah had used and instructed her former aide, Datuk Rizal Mansor, to do her bidding and solicit monies from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director, Saidi Abang Samsudin.
Rosmah had claimed she would have negotiated the deal herself with Saidi and Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah (Saidi’s business partner) if it was for her benefit.
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“It would have been undignified of her to do so. The accused appears to be dignified and thinks very highly of herself.
“This was evident from her demeanour on the witness stand and her standing in society as the Prime Minister’s wife then.
“Negotiating openly would have exposed her misdeeds,” the judge said.
Teamwork: Sri Ram speaking to the media after the verdict at the Kuala Lumpur court complex. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
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These were some of the remarks contained in the 116-page written judgment by Justice Zaini in which he convicted Rosmah of one count of soliciting RM187.5mil and two counts of accepting RM1.5mil and RM5mil, monies linked to the project in Sarawak.
He sentenced her to 10 years’ jail on each of the three charges and a RM970mil fine. He ordered the jail terms to run concurrently.
If she fails to pay the fine, she will have to serve another 10 years on each charges, this time consecutively.
The decision was delivered shortly after he dismissed Rosmah’s application to recuse him from presiding over her case.
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He said Rosmah’s defence was a bare denial and unsubstantiated and that the prosecution had succeeded in proving its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“The accused is therefore guilty of all three charges,” he said here yesterday.
The judge also said Rosmah dominated her husband, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, and had control over the former prime minister.
He also alluded to the famous “Can I advise you something” audio clip between Najib and Rosmah that was released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
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He said it was clear from the audio recording that the accused gave instructions to Najib on government affairs.
“No fewer than three witnesses, namely Datuk Rizal Mansor, former Minister of Education Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and the ministry’s then secretary-general Tan Sri Madinah Mohamed, have positively identified the voices in the recording as those of Najib and the accused.
“It was no ordinary conversation between spouses, for it was about government affairs,” said the judge.
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He further added that Rizal was telling the truth when he said the accused had an overbearing nature and the ability to influence decisions in the civil service as he had worked with her for many years.
“She has a steely character and would not hesitate to admonish anyone. It was also evident during the trial that she was not cowed when being cross-examined by the learned counsel (Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram) for the prosecution, which I might add is no mean feat considering the learned counsel’s eminence.”
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At the outset of the proceedings, Justice Zaini had to deal with Rosmah’s application to recuse him over the purported “leaked judgment” in his case.
He heard submissions from both parties on the matter and adjourned the proceedings to break for lunch and for deliberation.
The proceedings were supposed to resume at 2.15pm but began later at 2.40pm.
Upon emerging from his chambers then, Justice Zaini apologised to the parties for taking his time.
“Sorry to have kept everyone waiting. I couldn’t find someone to write my judgment, so I had to write my own,” he said with a smile.
The courtroom was in stitches upon hearing the judge’s candid remark.
On the “leaked” judgment, Justice Zaini said the two documents raised in the application were opinions by the research unit.
“They are not draft judgments prepared for me, but they remain just that, opinions.
“They are not my grounds, nor are they my decision. I hope the research judgment would forgive me for saying this, but I have not read their opinions,” he said.
The judge said he had always done his own work, no matter how laborious it was, and that he had written many judgments.
“Anyone can form their own opinion, but what matters is my own,” he added.
“I have done my research. I have written 200 judgments to date, and I wrote all of them. Many do not realise how difficult my job is. I have no prejudice against her (Rosmah),” he added.
“We are not here to be popular, nor are we here to make popular decisions. We are here to dispense justice,” he said, adding that his decision was based on facts and the law.
“Whatever feelings, we leave it at the door step before sitting on the bench,” he said when dismissing the application to recuse him.
He added that if he was wrong in his ruling, the appellate court would correct his decision.
For the full judgment on Rosmah’s solar hybrid case, please visit https://bit.ly/3Qlm0Tn.
