PUTRAJAYA, Jan 16 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today claimed he had not received a text message in October 2009 by then 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, where the latter had tried to share his concerns and alert the then prime minister about financial misconduct in the company.

Najib said this while testifying in his own trial, where over RM2 billion of 1MDB funds were alleged to have entered his private AmIslamic bank accounts.

Previously, Bakke told the High Court he had resigned from 1MDB as Najib did not reply to the SMS, and that this caused him to feel that Najib was involved in the 1MDB misconduct. Bakke also felt something wrong was happening without his knowledge.

But when asked to confirm that Bakke had informed him about the mismanagement of 1MDB as early as October 2009, Najib merely said he did not recall getting the text message.

“No, I don’t remember getting his SMS. But I will expect him — actually I wanted him — when he resigned, he should have seen me. We could have discussed the matter — why he resigned — but he didn’t see me, you see,” Najib replied.

But later when asked why he did not ask Bakke to see him upon resigning, Najib insisted that Bakke should have come to see him.

Under cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam, Najib confirmed that Bakke’s October 19, 2009 resignation letter as 1MDB chairman was sent and received at his office and that he knew about Bakke’s resignation then.

Asked if he had asked Bakke why he was resigning, Najib said Bakke did not provide explanations in the resignation letter.

Mustaffa: Tan Sri Bakke resigned from 1MDB, an important company at that time under your purview as finance minister, didn’t it occur to you to call him, and ask him why you resign?

Najib: No, I wished he had seen me. But he said he didn’t see me. I didn’t call him, because I thought he wanted to resign. But he should have seen me, because if anything serious, it is incumbent on him to say why. Why you put the blame only on me? It’s not fair, an officer resigns, he resigns.

Asked if it would have been prudent for Najib as prime minister to ask Bakke about his resignation, Najib replied: “No, he knows me personally, he has access to me. Tan Sri Bakke could have seen me, he didn’t see me. Why am I to be blamed for somebody resigning?”

Responding to the suggestion that Najib did not want to see Bakke as he did not want to know the reasons for the latter’s resignation, Najib replied: “No, no, I disagree with that.”

Mustaffa: Because you don’t want to probe the mismanagement in 1MDB.

Najib: No, I appointed Tan Sri Bakke, a lot of professional people in 1MDB because I expected them to run 1MDB professionally. These are not my cronies, these are people who are competent professionals.

Asked what action he had taken to address the alleged mismanagement in 1MDB after receiving Bakke’s message, Najib replied: “Look, as far as I’m concerned, Tan Sri Bakke did not see me.”

“At that time, I didn’t get Tan Sri Bakke’s message, I don’t remember reading it,” he said.

Najib disagreed that he knew at that time that there was a problem growing at 1MDB, also disagreeing that he knew “something was wrong with 1MDB” upon Bakke’s resignation.

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