KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 3): A former secretary of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the High Court during his corruption trial that he had never asked her to use his charity Yayasan Akalbudi funds to pay any of his personal bills.

Datuk Rosiah Osman, 71, who was Zahid’s executive secretary from 1994 to 2011, testified that while she was serving him, all his personal bills such as credit cards, road taxes, and insurance policies were paid using his personal Maybank accounts.

She also testified that it was the same when it came to his wife’s credit card bills.

Upon questioning from Zahid’s lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, Rosiah said Yayasan Akalbudi funds were strictly used for charitable activities and donations via cheques to worthy causes.

She then testified, however, that there were occasions when Zahid had to use his personal credit card to purchase items for charity and then he would get reimbursed by Yayasan Akalbudi.

“Datuk Zahid used the credit card to pay for items to be donated, from there we paid (him back) using Yayasan Akalbudi’s cheques to (reimburse) his credit cards,” she said upon questioning from deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.

She said this was done sometimes to pay for objects for charity which couldn’t be paid for by cheque.

She further clarified that this was done on only a handful of occasions, adding that “not all” Yayasan Akalbudi’s donations were done this way.

Zahid’s contention in this case is that Rosiah’s successor Major Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly, who took over in December 2011, was negligent in handling his accounts as well as finances in Yayasan Akalbudi, which led to him being charged.

He said among the negligence Mazlina committed was failing to understand and read his credit card statements, which caused her to make either insufficient or excessive payments.

Zahid said Mazlina had used Yayasan Akalbudi cheques to pay his credit card bills without his instruction, knowledge or agreement.

Testifying before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, Rosiah said that during her 18-year stint with Zahid, he had never given her orders to pay his personal credit card bills, vehicle insurance and road taxes using Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

Rosiah testified that there were always sufficient funds in Zahid’s personal accounts to pay off these bills.

Zahid, who is also Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman, is facing 47 charges, of which 12 are for criminal breach of trust (CBT), eight for corruption, and 27 for money laundering, involving RM31 million of Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

For the 12 CBT charges, Zahid is alleged to have used the funds to make payments for personal credit cards, insurance policies and licences for his personal vehicles, remittances to a law firm, and contributions to the Royal Malaysian Police football association.

Each of the charges, under Section 409 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum of 20 years in jail, whipping and fine.

The trial continues before Sequerah next Monday (Aug 7).