Najib Excitedly Told Me About Saudi Financial Aid Promise Ex Envoy

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1MDB TRIAL | A retired Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia recalled how then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak excitedly told him about King Abdullah's promise of financial aid in 2010.
Syed Omar Al-Saggaf told this to the High Court convened in Putrajaya this afternoon during the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial against Najib.
The 81-year-old's testimony backed Najib's line of defence that the billions of ringgit that flowed in and out of the accused's Malaysian bank account did not originate from 1MDB but was a donation from Saudi royalty.
During cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar, Syed Omar recalled the outcome of a meeting between Najib and King Abdullah at the Saudi royal palace in January 2010.
Syed Omar testified he was part of the Malaysian delegation that accompanied Najib to the Middle-Eastern kingdom and that the witness was standing a distance from where Najib and King Abdullah were in deep discussion.
Kamal: You said you were informed by Najib (about King Abdullah's alleged promise of financial aid)?
Syed Omar: (When Najib and King Abdullah finished speaking to each other), he (Najib) looked excited when he came to see me to say, 'We got the financial aid'.
When the prosecutor pressed on whether the then premier mentioned it was financial aid, the defence witness explained Najib said it was financial aid but nothing else as the conversation between the defence witness and accused was brief.
Syed Omar recalled Najib telling him, "Kita sudah berjaya (we have succeeded)."
However, during Kamal's grilling, the defence witness admitted he did not hear what was discussed between Najib and King Abdullah as he was quite a distance from them during the alleged meeting.
Syed Omar also testified that he was not sure in what form the alleged Saudi financial aid promise was supposed to come to Najib.
Trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes on Wednesday.
ADSNajib recently wrapped up his testimony to defend himself in the criminal trial after 26 days.
Prima facie case
On Oct 30, the criminal court ordered Najib to enter his defence over four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB.
Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against Najib due to the strength of some 50 witness testimonies.
The former prime minister was first charged in 2018 and the trial started the year after. The prosecution stage of the trial lasted six years.
Throughout the criminal trial, Najib maintained he had no knowledge or involvement in wrongdoing at 1MDB, and that all embezzlement there was solely masterminded by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) and its management.
The accused also relied on the defence that he was led to believe that the money that went into his account was a political donation from Saudi Arabia, as promised by the late monarch King Abdullah during the 2010 meeting.
Initially established as the Terengganu Investment Authority in 2008, the state-owned fund’s ownership was transferred to the federal government the following year and renamed 1MDB.
The sovereign wealth fund’s stated purpose was to ensure long-term sustainable development while safeguarding the economic well-being of Malaysians.
Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah acted for Najib.
The accused is also serving a six-year jail sentence since August 2022 over the separate criminal case involving abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million of funds from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
Later, SRC became wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc). MOF Inc also fully owned 1MDB.
Incidentally, Syed Omar also testified on behalf of Najib's defence during the SRC criminal trial. - Mkini

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