KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — The star witness in Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's criminal breach of trust (CBT) case admitted that it was wrong to have withdrawn money from Bersatu youth wing Armada's bank accounts and transfer it to Syed Saddiq without approval from the party's supreme leadership.
Rafiq Hakim Razali, Armada’s assistant treasurer at the time, however, insisted that he only did so under instructions from his former boss Syed Saddiq, and that he suffered from a guilty conscience following his actions.
Rafiq said as one of three trustees of the bank account, he felt that he should have consulted the party first.
During questioning by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Rafiq explained that he felt worried when asked to withdraw RM1 million from a CIMB account.
The offence was allegedly committed at CIMB Bank Berhad at Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Sentral 2, here on March 6, 2020.
The charge, framed under Section 406 of the Penal Code, provides imprisonment of up to 10 years with whipping and a fine if convicted.
On the second charge, Syed Saddiq was charged with misappropriation of RM120,000 belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise in Maybank Islamic Berhad for his own use, which resulted in Rafiq disposing of the money.
Syed Saddiq was charged with committing the offence at Malayan Banking Berhad, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya here between April 8, 2018 and April 21, 2018.
The charge was framed under Section 403 of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment of between six months and five years, with whipping and liable to fine, if found guilty.
Rafiq recalled how on the day the Malaysian-Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) went to Syed Saddiq's house to investigate the missing RM250,000, he received a call from the latter asking him to remove any money he had with him so the anti-graft agency would not find and confiscate it.
He said Syed Saddiq was worried about a change in government and wanted the money kept aside, claiming it as his own and for his campaigning in Muar for the 14th general election.
Rafiq also insisted that Syed Saddiq had used the words "clear the money" in his instructions.
"So when I heard all this I felt that after him (Syed Saddiq) the next target would naturally be me, the party assistant treasurer. When he said 'clearkan' I took it as him telling me to keep the money in a safe place so MACC officers wouldn't find it.
"If you ask me why I felt it was wrong, it's because I felt I had broken the party's trust. It's a large sum of money and the constitution states we need working papers to prove the expenditure and its usage. It also ensures we can't simply give large sums to anyone," he said during questioning today.
Continuing his testimony, Rafiq said he had said previously that the money he withdrew under instructions was for Syed Saddiq's personal use. This happened weeks ago when he was cross examined by defence lawyer Gobind Singh Deo.
Gobind had tried to impeach Rafiq twice as his oral and witness testimony were contradictory in nature. In explaining this today, he admitted to being confused and took the opportunity to explain himself.
"When I said personal use, I meant personal while still under the party's banner. Meaning it was for personal use for party activities as long as Syed Saddiq was a Bersatu and Armada member, that's what personal use meant.
"He was still competing on the Armada ticket at the time and I meant if he took the money or if it was in the bank accounts of the party, it must be used for politics. Normally when large sums are withdrawn we need to explain the usage to the supreme council with the working papers but in this case, we didn't and I felt I had committed a breach of trust," he added.
Rafiq is the prosecution's 13th witness.
Meanwhile, Gobind asked that three investigation officers be brought back for his final cross-examination.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid fixed September 27 and 28 to continue the hearing, September 30th to file written submissions, and October 6 and 7 for oral submissions.
