This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 28, 2019 - December 4, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: National Audit Department (NAD) director Nor Salwani Muhammad did not breach any code of conduct by recording the fateful Feb 24, 2016 meeting between top government officials, said former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang.

Ambrin was replying to a question from senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) audit report tampering trial yesterday, where the audio recording of the meeting has become a key piece of evidence.

Nor Salwani had previously testified that she slipped a recording device inside a pencil case belonging to her superior, former NAD audit director Saadatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad, just before leaving the meeting room as she was asked to do so prior to the start of the meeting.

The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the NAD, 1MDB, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, as well as then chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s chief private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Mohd Salleh, and former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy discussed and agreed to amend and destroy the original 1MDB audit report.

Nor Salwani was the coordinator of the NAD special 1MDB audit report team, tasked with auditing 1MDB in 2015 in order to be presented to the Public Accounts Committee.

Sri Ram: There was a group of you [from the NAD] that went to the meeting, but only the two of you (Ambrin and Saadatul Nafisah) remained in the room. Salwani was not in the room, correct?

Ambrin: She (Nor Salwani) was supposed to be in the room but was asked to leave because, I assume, of the limited space in the room. So she was asked to wait outside.

Sri Ram: What was her function had she attended [the] meeting; what could have been her role?

Ambrin: As the coordinator, she was supposed to take notes of the discussion because the meeting was to discuss very important issues relating to our report. And as coordinator there was a standing instruction that she had to follow at all the meetings.

Sri Ram: When she placed that recording device in the pencil case of Puan Nafisah, would you describe that as a breach of the code of conduct?

Ambrin: No, because if she had been able to attend the meeting, there was no need to record. She would’ve just taken down notes, just like any other meeting. And it was for internal use [anyway].