KUALA LUMPUR: Former finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz told the High Court that meeting notes from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were regarded as instructions that required action and consideration as Muhyiddin was the prime minister then.
Tengku Zafrul, who is the 11th prosecution witness in Muhyiddin’s Jana Wibawa graft trial, said based on his experience as the then finance minister, the prime minister’s notes, or minutes, must be considered but they were not blanket approvals.
“There are minutes that needed follow-ups with recommendations. Sometimes you either agree or disagree in the recommendations.
“In this context, where the Prime Minister is the superior... we are in the Cabinet based on his appointment of us, of course his minute is an instruction.
“So, in this case, his minute is to instruct myself and the Finance Ministry to consider. But it’s not an instruction to approve,” Tengku Zafrul said here yesterday.
To a question by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Tengku Zafrul said if the prime minister put a note on the paper stating “not to consider”, he would not make any consideration on the matter.
The witness also testified that he has no knowledge why some companies were recommended for direct negotiations while others were minuted for the pre-qualification process.
He said the only person who would know the reason behind this was Muhyiddin.
On Monday, the High Court heard that 54 contractor companies recommended by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) were all awarded projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.
Muhyiddin, 78, is facing four counts of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM225.3mil in relation to the Jana Wibawa Project from three companies and an individual for the party.
The offence was allegedly committed at the PMO, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.
