KUALA LUMPUR: A "5% portion" from the RM381mil value of an open tender, linked to a maintenance and spare parts contract for the police, was allegedly sought for Bersatu's political funding, the Sessions Court here heard.
Nexuscorpgroup Sdn Bhd (NSB) director Ismuni Johari, 58, testified that Sayed Amir Muzzakir Al Sayed Mohamad, a former political secretary to former home minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, made this intention known during a courtesy visit in May 2020 by himself (Ismuni) and NSB managing director Wan Azhar Mohamed Yusof.
The visit purportedly lasted 30 minutes at Sayed Amir's office at Yayasan Tanah Aku in Publika here, and the 5% was to develop grassroots programmes for the party, Ismuni added.
ALSO READ: Ex-pol sec’s graft case linked to RM381mil tender
The 12th prosecution witness said that a month before the courtesy visit, Wan Azhar told him that Sayed Amir was meeting him outside of the minister's office for reasons unknown to Ismuni.
"After the meeting, Wan Azhar informed me that Sayed Amir asked for a 5% portion from the project value of 'Open Pre-Qualification Tender, Maintenance Services and Supply of Spare Parts for Infrastructure Equipment, Servers, Software, and User Radios of the RMPNET System for the Royal Malaysia Police', worth RM381mil," he said in his witness statement here on Wednesday (July 22).
Ismuni said Wan Azhar told him that the portion was to "help" NSB secure the project.
"I agreed to it because Wan Azhar and I wanted to win the tender. Wan Azhar also said that NSB would need an agreement relating to that 5%.
"I believed there was a big possibility that NSB would not have won the tender if Wan Azhar and I rejected the request from Sayed Amir.
"I believed Sayed Amir helped NSB secure the tender because he was the political secretary to Datuk Seri Hamzah at that time," he added.
ALSO READ: Former minister's aide signed cover letter supporting Nexuscorp's bid for police contract
Ismuni said initially, Wan Azhar told him that Sayed Amir wanted the portion, which came to RM19mil, to be paid in a lump sum three or four months after the letter of award (LOA) was issued.
"However, we disagreed as NSB did not have enough money to pay RM19mil to Sayed Amir. We proposed to pay him in scheduled payments," he said.
On April 28, 2020, Ismuni said Wan Azhar gave him an agreement document between MKM Solutions Sdn Bhd and Nexuscorpgroup Sdn Bhd for him to sign as a "witness".
"As I was signing the document, Wan Azhar said this was the 5% agreement asked for by Sayed Amir. I do not know who prepared this document," he said.
Ismuni said that on Nov 30, 2020, he signed the LOA for the project and on Aug 11, 2021, he signed the contract document.
ALSO READ: Former political aide Sayed Amir demanded RM19mil 'lump sum' bribe, witness tells court
Sayed Amir was charged on May 23, 2024, with two counts of accepting RM350,000 in bribes from Wan Azhar, allegedly as a reward for helping secure a RM381.1mil tender for RMPNet maintenance and spare parts.
The offences are said to have occurred at the Yayasan Tanah Aku office in Solaris Dutamas on Dec 4 and 16, 2020.
He also faces a third charge for soliciting RM350,000 from the same person for the same purpose at the Nexuscorp office in Shah Alam in early December 2020.
He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) with up to 20 years' jail and a fine of at least five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The trial before judge Rosli Ahmad resumes on Thursday (July 23).
