KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — Umno treasurer Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today denied in court that a receipt issued from an Umno receipt book for a businessman’s alleged RM2 million political donation was forged after he was arrested in 2018.

Tengku Adnan, popularly known as Ku Nan, however also said that the Federal Territories division of Umno usually destroys its own copies of the receipts and keeps no records of such transactions.

Tengku Adnan, who is on trial for allegedly receiving the RM2 million as a bribe from businessman Tan Sri Chai Kin Kong in the form of a 2016 cheque deposited in Tengku Adnan’s company Tadmansori Holdings Sdn Bhd, was testifying in his own defence.

Tengku Adnan had insisted that the RM2 million was Chai’s political donation to Federal Territories Umno for the political party’s expenses in the two June 2016 by-elections of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, and had also previously said that he had used his own money as advance funds for Umno’s by-election spending before Chai’s donation was ready.

No records of political donations

Under cross-examination by the prosecution’s deputy public prosecutor Julia Ibrahim, Tengku Adnan replied "no” when asked if there is a record in Federal Territories Umno of Tan’s alleged RM2 million donation to the Federal Territories Umno.

Tengku Adnan said he did not need to inform Umno headquarters regarding Chai’s alleged RM2 million political donation.

"As I’ve said earlier, this got nothing to do with Umno HQ, I’m chief of Federal Territories Umno, I’m the chief. I can ask people to donate from any sources which I can get donations. It’s not only KK Chai, so many other people have contributed because they feel they should contribute to Umno. It’s Federal Territories (Umno), I am the chairman,” he said.

Julia: But you said no records of donation by Tan Sri KK Chai?

Tengku Adnan: Normally we never record any donations.

Julia: Are you saying you yourself personally decided as head of Federal Territories Umno, you yourself decided to substitute the payment from Tan Sri KK Chai for the alleged cash advances that you made?

Tengku Adnan: Yes.

A receipt for each donation

Despite saying that no records of political donations were kept, Tengku Adnan went on to assert that everyone who made a political donation to Umno would get a receipt.

Confirming that he had signed a receipt with the serial number 376241 dated June 14, 2016, to Chai for the RM2 million cheque, Tengku Adnan also confirmed that this receipt issued out of Umno’s official receipt book was prepared on his instructions by Umno staff — which he said could have been either those from the party HQ or Federal Territories chapter.

"Yes, because every donation which I receive from anybody, they will get a receipt, because it’s not intended for me, it’s for the party,” he replied.

Shown the original Umno receipt book in court, Tengku Adnan confirmed that the first receipt in the book with the serial number 376201 was dated August 24, 2017, and that Chai’s 2016 receipt (376241) was between two receipts issued in 2018.

Tengku Adnan said the receipt with serial number 376240 was dated October 12, 2018, while the receipt with the serial number 376242 was dated November 16, 2018.

Unlike other receipts which still had two carbon copies meant for filing and for office use left in the receipt book, no such copies of the receipt for Chai was left in the Umno receipt book, with Tengku Adnan also pointing out that another unrelated receipt with the serial number 376244 similarly had all its three copies pulled out from the book.

Tengku Adnan said, however, it was normal practice for Umno to pull out all the three copies of a receipt — the original and carbon copies — from Umno headquarters’ receipt book, as the Umno headquarters would otherwise be audited despite the involved funds being related to the state chapters instead of the headquarters.

Julia: So you said all three copies were taken out of the receipt book because not meant for Umno HQ, it’s meant for Federal Territories Umno?

Tengku Adnan: Agreed.

Julia: If that is so, then the two carbon copies will have been in possession of Umno Federal Territories?

Tengku Adnan: Normally we destroy it, because we do not keep records.

Tengku Adnan then disagreed that the 2016 receipt to Chai was an "anomaly” in the receipt book where its first receipt was dated 2017, further disagreeing that the anomaly in dates meant that the receipt to Chai was a forged document.

Julia then pointed out that Tengku Adnan was arrested on November 14, 2018 and the November 16, 2018 date of the receipt (376242) issued immediately after the purported receipt to Chai (376241), further suggesting that this meant the 2016 receipt to Chai "was made or was forged after” Tengku Adnan was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

"I disagree, I never forged things,” Tengku Adnan replied.

Previously during trial, Chai had unexpectedly produced his copy of the purported receipt from his wallet while testifying as a prosecution witness against Tengku Adnan.

Chai reportedly did not inform investigators earlier on that he had managed to find the receipt, with the unexpected surfacing of the receipt later prompting MACC to seize the Umno receipt book which the receipt had allegedly originated from.

The receipt book was previously shown during the trial, with an MACC investigator confirming that the duplicate copies of the alleged receipt to Chai could not be found in the receipt book.

An official at Umno headquarters had previously explained that it would usually give the original receipt to the donor, while the second and third copies are kept in the official receipt book for use as reference when keying in details into a computer system for auditing purposes.

Records of cash advances

Previously ,Tengku Adnan had said that he had asked Chai to write out the RM2 million cheque to his company Tadmansori Holdings as he had advanced funds for Umno’s use in the 2016 by-elections, and further confirmed today that Umno had previously used cheques to refund him for cash advances that he had made.

He agreed that the cheques used by Umno to repay his advances came from Umno’s own funds, but could not confirm if all such cheques came from Umno’s bank account, saying: "Some yes, some I don’t know, I can’t remember.”

Tengku Adnan initially said he did not know if there were records of all his cash advances to Umno, before disagreeing that there were records of all such cash advances.

Julia: I was suggesting that since they could repay you those cash advances, they would have records of all the advances that you made?

Tengku Adnan: Disagree. I disagree lah. Maybe you don’t know how political funding runs.

The trial before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan resumes this afternoon, with Tengku Adnan’s lawyer Datuk Tan Hock Chuan expected to ask him questions.