KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court here Wednesday (Jan 21) that he did not anticipate any problems arising from his personal Ambank accounts after agreeing to the appointment of SRC International Sdn Bhd former director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as the account mandate holder in 2011.
Najib, 72, said he accepted the appointment based on a strong recommendation from his former principal private secretary, the late Datuk Azlin Alias, despite being aware of the potential financial risks of appointing someone he had never met personally.
"Firstly, Nik Faisal was a well-qualified accountant. Secondly, it was conveyed to me that his father, Tan Sri Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmood, a former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, was very close to my late father. On that basis, I had no objection to his appointment.
"I dealt with him in relation to SRC, but before SRC, I had never met him personally. In the letter of Nik Faisal's appointment, the insertion of his name was not in my handwriting," he said.
The former premier said this during cross-examination by SRC counsel Kwan Will Sen in the RM42mil civil suit filed by SRC and its subsidiary, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, against him.
In response to Kwan's question on whether he had considered appointing someone more familiar to him, such as Azlin, as the mandate holder, Najib said Azlin was too busy at the time, and he relied on his recommendation.
Najib also maintained that although the accounts were in his name and appeared to be personal, they were intended to receive donations for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
"The accounts were not personal in the sense of being used for my own transactions. They were in my name, but the purpose was to receive donations for CSR activities.
"This intention was not stated in writing, but in my mind, the funds were meant for CSR," he said, while acknowledging that there was no written instruction or formal declaration to the bank reflecting this purpose.
The suit, which was filed in 2021, involves SRC and Gandingan Mentari seeking a declaration that Najib is liable to them for the receipt of RM42mil, as well as damages for knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, the tort of misfeasance and abuse of power.
Nik Faisal, who is named as a third-party defendant in this suit along with five other former directors, remained at large.
The hearing before Justice Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan continues Thursday (Jan 22). - Bernama
