KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad was shocked to be given RM2.8mil in introductory fees from two unit trust agents for her role in referring them to Felcra Bhd, she said in her defence in court.
From the introduction, she said the two unit trust agents – Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar and Madhi Abdul Hamid – secured a RM150mil investment from Felcra, where Zizie’s late husband, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, sat as chairman at the material time.
In her witness statement read out in Sessions Court yesterday, she said Norhaili called her on June 11, 2015, to inform her that the agency was giving her the money as “introductory fees”.
“I was shocked. I told her (Norhaili) that I did not do anything. But Norhaili said it was a common practice for her agency and her marketing strategy to give introductory fees as a token of appreciation for helping them in social networking,” Zizie said.
“Norhaili told me that they would be paying RM2.2mil in cash. She suggested that the remaining RM600,000 be invested in a unit trust because I already had an existing investment with Public Mutual.”
A sum of RM262,500 and RM337,500 was invested into two Public Mutual funds under Zizie’s name.
In her statement, Zizie said she did not tell her husband about the introductory fees.
“We manage our finances separately. He was not involved in my business or my investment. The introductory fee is linked to my personal affair, so I did not think to inform him,” she added.
During cross-examination, deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How questioned Zizie on her finances with her husband.
DPP: Bung Moktar would not interfere in your finances and vice versa?
Zizie: Yes, absolutely.
DPP: You prioritise privacy and freedom; that’s why you did not share anything about your finances with Datuk Seri?
Zizie: Agreed.
DPP: I put it to you that this is a complete fiction because husbands and wives share everything.
Zizie: I disagree.
When cross-examined by DPP Mohd Fadhly Mohd Zamri, Zizie described Norhaili as “a friend and a financial adviser”.
When asked why there would be a need for an introductory fee if one introduced her friend to her husband, Zizie said: “I’m sorry; you have to ask Norhaili that. She was the one who gave it to me. I never asked for it.”
After her testimony was completed, her lawyer, Datuk Kumaraendran, told the court that the defence was closing its case.
Zizie is the second defence witness to testify after Bung Moktar, who was acquitted of his charges following his death.
Zizie was charged with three counts of abetting Bung Moktar, who was then the non-executive chairman of Felcra, with three counts of accepting RM2.2mil and RM262,500 from Mahdi and another RM337,500 from Norhaili as inducement for Felcra’s approval to invest RM150mil in Public Mutual unit trusts.
The offences were allegedly committed at Public Bank’s Taman Melawati Branch between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
Bung, who was the Kinabatangan MP, was given an acquittal from the three corruption charges following his death on Dec 5, 2025.
The trial is fixed for submissions before judge Rosli Ahmad on April 24.
