KUALA LUMPUR: The RM141mil contract for the North Klang district police headquarters under the Jana Wibawa initiative was awarded to a company controlled by a non-bumiputra businessman, the High Court heard.
Director and senior procurement executive of the construction company, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Aliza Abd Malek, 47, was testifying against former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) in his graft trial yesterday.
Aliza, who is the 13th prosecution witness, said she signed the agreement letter on Jan 12, 2022, alongside Nepturis’ managing director Mohd Rizman Akum Khan after receiving instructions from Lian Tian Chuan.
Aliza also testified that she first worked with Lian at his telecommunications company MK Construction & Communication Sdn Bhd in October 2003 as a procurement clerk before being absorbed into Metrasys Sdn Bhd, a construction company founded by Lian a few years later.
In 2018, Aliza said she and Mohd Rizman took over Lian’s company Nepturis as company directors, each holding a 50% stake.
“Although Lian’s name is not in the company, Rizman, Lian and I know that Lian has a 30% shareholding in Nepturis.
“This is because all the capital injection is from Lian’s previous company, Metrasys. (On) all of the operations in the company, Rizman and I must discuss with Lian to have his agreement.
“The reason Lian asked me and Rizman to take over the company was so we could focus the business on construction and obtain a CIDB licence to secure government contracts,” she said in her witness statement.
Prior to securing the RM141mil contract, Aliza said Lian asked her to prepare five application letters for the Klang Utara district police headquarters project for five different companies, including Nepturis.
The other four companies were Permata Rebana Sdn Bhd, Fastcoll Corporation Sdn Bhd, JM Letrik Sdn Bhd and MZ Hakujaya Sdn Bhd.
Aliza said Lian told her the letters were meant for the prime minister at the time, which was Muhyiddin.
During cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Aliza confirmed that the letters she prepared had used different fonts.
She agreed with the lawyer’s suggestion that the different fonts were used to show that the letters came from different companies and that they had no links to one another.
Muhyiddin, 78, was charged with four counts of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM225.3mil in relation to the Jana Wibawa project from three companies, including Nepturis, and an individual for Bersatu.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.
He also faces three counts of receiving proceeds from illegal activities totalling RM200mil, which were deposited into Bersatu’s bank accounts between February 2021 and July 2022.
The hearing continues before Justice Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin today.
