PUTRAJAYA, Jan 14 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today insisted that his paying of RM2.3 million from his own personal bank account for social media management and speechwriting services in 2013 was not for his personal interest, but to fulfill his official duties as prime minister then.
But when asked why he did not use the Malaysian government’s funds to pay for those services purportedly for his duties as prime minister, Najib claimed it was to avoid burdening the government.
Najib said this while testifying in his own defence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial, where over RM2 billion of the government-owned company’s money allegedly entered his private AmIslamic bank accounts.
While Najib is accused of using illegal funds originating from 1MDB in his bank account to pay RM2.3 million for those social media and speechwriting services, he has been insisting that the huge sums of his money in his account are donations from Saudi Arabia and are not illegal money.
Today, deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar pressed Najib on the latter’s RM2 million cheque to ORB Solutions Sdn Bhd (to manage his social media accounts) and RM303,000 cheque to Semarak Konsortium Satu Sdn Bhd (to write his speeches). Najib had claimed these two companies were paid for services of his duties as prime minister.
Kamal Baharin suggested that the government should have given special financial allocations and could have used official funds to pay the two companies, if they were carrying out services for Najib’s official duties.
Najib replied: “Can, but I don’t want to burden the government.”
Najib said ORB Solutions offered an additional platform for him as the prime minister then to convey his message to Malaysians, saying that the Prime Minister’s Office’s communications division was insufficient then as the coverage needed was wide.
Najib also said he needed an “additional platform” via the social media management company, as the mainstream media does not cover all Malaysians that would receive the government’s message.
Najib said those at the Prime Minister’s Office were not as skilled in speechwriting, saying that he had wanted those with a high mastery of the English language and at that time it was hard for him to find civil servants who had a good mastery of the language.
As for his RM246,000 cheque to Tan Sri Lim Soon Peng to be channelled to two companies including for the management of his “Ah Jib Gor” Facebook page catering to the ethnic Chinese community, Najib disagreed with the suggestion that this was for his personal interest as it was to boost his image among the Chinese community.
Najib instead claimed it was related to his official duties as prime minister as he wanted to “communicate government policy” to Malaysians.
While agreeing that the PMO’s communications divisions could have handled this Facebook page if it was truly in his official capacity, Najib insisted that social media requires more effort than just from the government, as multiple platforms are required.
Najib also disagreed that his RM20 million cheque to Umno and his RM100,000 cheque to Umno’s Batu Kawan division while he was Umno president in 2013 were for his interest.
He disagreed that these two cheques bolstered his image as an Umno president who could aid the party and the party division and that it meant it was for his interest.
For all these five cheques totalling RM22.649 million issued from his personal bank account, Najib disagreed with the prosecution’s suggestion that these are all illegal funds.
These five cheques are part of the 21 money laundering charges which Najib is facing in the 1MDB trial, and which the prosecution said were actually unlawfully taken from funds belonging to 1MDB.
Najib’s 1MDB trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes this afternoon.
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