KUALA LUMPUR: The Finance Ministry’s procurement division only processed company applications for the Jana Wibawa programme that were recommended directly by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the High Court heard.
The division’s former deputy undersecretary, Datin Rosni Mohd Yusoff, 54, testified that she received instructions to process the company applications from her then superior, former undersecretary Datuk Zamzuri Abdul Aziz, 56.
She said Zamzuri had also received instructions from his superior, adding that for the Jana Wibawa programme, the division only processed applications that came from the PMO.
The 25th prosecution witness, who was also the then chairperson of the Jana Wibawa contractor evaluation committee, said this during re-examination yesterday by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat at Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s graft trial linked to the programme.
Rosni, who is now the procurement division undersecretary, was asked to clarify the hierarchy through which the instructions were issued.
“The instructions came from the PMO to the Finance Minister’s office, which then instructed the procurement division’s undersecretary to execute them through a minute,” she said.
Rosni told the court that this was her source of authority to carry out the process and was part of the work process for civil servants.
When Noralis asked whether the order would not have “come out of nowhere”, Rosni agreed.
During cross-examination earlier, Rosni got into a heated exchange with Muhyiddin’s lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, who asked her to show the court documents supporting her claim that there had been instructions for the projects to be awarded through direct negotiations.
Rosni was unable to locate the exact documents but maintained that such instructions had been issued.
When Amer Hamzah asked whether she had received any instructions directly from Muhyiddin, Rosni said she had not.
The lawyer then pressed her to produce documentary evidence to support her claim.
“I did receive the instructions, my Lady. If I didn’t, I would not have made the assessment,” Rosni answered.
Former prime minister Muhyiddin, 79, was charged with four counts of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM225.3mil in relation to the Jana Wibawa programme from four companies and an individual: Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd and Datuk Azman Yusoff.
The offences were 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 allegedly deposited into Bersatu’s bank accounts between February 2021 and July 2022.
The hearing resumes before Justice Noor Ruwena Md Nordin on Aug 26.
