KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s former secretary today said she is not an expert on signatures, but insisted that his signature was stamped and not handwritten on multiple cheques issued by his Yayasan Akalbudi charitable organisation.
Datuk Rosiah Osman, 71, said this while testifying as the seventh defence witness during the deputy prime minister’s criminal breach of trust trial involving Yayasan Akalbudi’s RM31 million.
Zahid is a trustee of Yayasan Akalbudi. There were initially other co-signatories, but Zahid from 2013 onwards became the sole signatory or the only person who could sign off on Yayasan Akalbudi’s cheques.
Rosiah, who worked as Zahid’s secretary from 1994 until her mandatory retirement in 2011, had previously insisted that the physical stamp bearing the exact replica of Zahid’s signature was only to be used for bulk signing of invitation cards, greeting cards and certificates of appreciation.
Quizzed by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar over 30 Yayasan Akalbudi cheques shown to her, Rosiah said she was “sure” that Zahid’s signature on these cheques were stamped on, instead of being personally written down by Zahid.
While agreeing with Dusuki that she is not a signature expert, Rosiah insisted that Zahid’s signature was stamped onto these cheques.
Dusuki: Factually, you yourself cannot verify 100 per cent that it is Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid’s stamped signature?
Rosiah: Disagree, this is stamped.
But for all these Yayasan Akalbudi cheques issued in 2014 and 2015 and after she retired, Rosiah said she does not know who allegedly stamped Zahid’s signature onto the cheques as she did not see who did it.
Rosiah disagreed that the stamped signature on the cheques would have been done with Zahid’s approval, saying that this was because Zahid never ordered her to do so during the time when she was his secretary.
Rosiah agreed that she does not know what is the applicable procedure after her role as Zahid’s executive secretary was taken over by Major Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly from December 2011 onwards.
When Dusuki suggested it was possible Zahid subsequently allowed for his signature to be stamped on the cheques, Rosiah said she does not know.
Asked by Zahid’s lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh, Rosiah said the person who had the last possession of the stamp of Zahid’s signature and the cheque books was Mazlina.
Rosiah also told Zahid’s lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal that there is only one stamp of Zahid’s signature and that she had handed it to Mazlina when the latter took over her role as secretary.
Earlier, Rosiah insisted to Dusuki that she did tell Mazlina upon the handover of Zahid’s signature stamp that it is only intended to be used for certificates of appreciation and not for cheques, and that Zahid’s personal cheques should be used for his personal expenses and Yayasan Akalbudi’s cheques are only to be used for donations.
As for instances where there were overpayments or when the money paid was more than what Zahid actually owed on credit card bills during Mazlina’s time as secretary, Rosiah disagreed with Dusuki’s suggestion that no one had suffered any losses since the excess money would be recorded as being “credited” into Zahid’s credit card account and remain in that account.
“Become credit, Datuk Seri is the one who has losses. Money should not go out at that time,” Rosiah said, having said earlier this morning that she would not have made similar errors such as underpaying or overpaying Zahid’s credit card bills if she was the one handling the payments.
Rosiah completed her testimony today.
Zahid, who is also Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman, is facing 47 charges in this trial.
The 47 charges are namely, 12 counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to over RM31 million of charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, 27 counts of money laundering, and eight counts of bribery charges of over RM21.25 million in alleged bribes.
The 12 counts of criminal breach of trust is in relation to the alleged misappropriation of Yayasan Akalbudi funds, namely RM1.3 million via 43 cheques for his and his wife’s credit card bills; RM107,509.55 via three cheques for vehicle insurance and road tax for 20 privately-owned vehicles; a RM1.3 million cheque to the police’s football association; a RM10 million cheque for a loan to Armada Holdings Sdn Bhd; RM360,000 via two cheques to political consultancy firm TS Consultancy & Resources; and over RM17.9 million of funds transferred from Yayasan Akalbudi to law firm Lewis & Co.
Yayasan Akalbudi was founded with the purported objectives of receiving and administering funds for the eradication of poverty and enhancing the welfare of the poor.
Zahid’s trial before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah is scheduled to resume next Monday.
