KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the court on Tuesday that he had "no knowledge" of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) acting on his behalf, and any such claims were utterly "baseless".

Taking the stand to testify in his defence in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial, Najib said, “I had no knowledge of any instructions or actions taken by Jho Low on my behalf, nor did I communicate with Jho Low on such matters. Any claims that Jho Low acted with my ‘approval’ or ‘blessing’ are baseless”.

The prosecution has often argued that Jho Low was Najib’s “mirror image” (alter ego), and that the two had worked hand-in-glove to siphon money out of 1MDB’s coffers. Numerous witnesses have also testified that they believed that Jho Low — who is still at large — was communicating Najib's wishes and directions.

“I did not authorise Jho Low to draft or deliver any talking points or action plans to (then 1MDB chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk) Shahrol (Azral Ibrahim Halmi), (then 1MDB general counsel) Jasmine (Loo), (then CEO Mohd) Hazem (Abdul Rahman), (then 1MDB chief financial officer) Azmi (Tahir), or any other members of the management or 1MDB board of directors (BOD), or to any of my officers — (Datuk) Amhari (Effendi Nazaruddin), (the late) Datuk Azlin (Alias), or (Najib’s special officer Datuk) Wan Ahmad Shihab (Wan Ismail), nor did I direct Jho Low to carry out decisions or provide instructions to [the management, board, or my aides],” he said.

“Any decisions made or actions taken by them on Jho Low’s instructions were done independently of me, and any suggestion otherwise is a misrepresentation of the true state of affairs,” he stressed.

Najib also added that it was easy for these “lying individuals” of the management personnel to pin the blame on him to escape legal repercussions.

On Tuesday, in response to senior defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s query, Najib also said that he was not given a Blackberry — Jho Low’s chosen communication device through which he communicated with various 1MDB-related parties.

Shafee: Were you a part of this group that conspired to cheat 1MDB? If that were true, were you also given a Blackberry, so you can have secret communication within the group?

Najib: No.

Shafee also asked the ex-PM if there were any impediments in appointing Jho Low to an official post within the company. Najib said that although there were no impediments then, it would have been “catastrophic” to do so, given what is now known about the 1MDB scandal.

“It would be catastrophic to appoint him, knowing what we know now,” Najib said.

He added that Jho Low always portrayed himself as having a very special relationship with the entities and personnel in the Middle-East. When asked by Shafee if Najib was aware that Jho Low was seemingly acting against 1MDB’s interest, Najib replied that Jho Low was mostly “representing the interest of PetroSaudi International (PSI)”.

The former finance minister also testified that he was “unaware” of the much repeated narrative that 1MDB practised a “work-in-silo” environment.

Many of the witnesses have testified that they never spotted wrongdoings or didn’t raise any wrongdoing within the company due to the boxed-in, secluded work environment, where they carried out their specific duties and were not privy to any other details or happenings beyond that.

On the stand on Tuesday, Najib slammed such a work environment, that it was a breeding ground for corruption.

“Now, regarding the concept of a ‘work-in-silo’ environment supposedly implemented at 1MDB, I am entirely unaware of such a structure, nor would I condone it. Secrecy fosters corruption within any institution and encourages fraudulent behaviour in any corporation,” he said.

It has to be noted that 1MDB, a Minister of Finance Inc (MOF Inc) company, fell under Najib’s purview as the then finance minister.

Najib also disputed that the management actually worked-in-silo, arguing that statements by witnesses in the trial indicated otherwise.

“[B]ased on the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies, it is clear that there was no actual implementation of a ‘work-in-silo’ arrangement at 1MDB. Instead, the witnesses’ evidence reveals a coordinated criminal scheme carried out without my knowledge. Prosecution witnesses, such as Shahrol, Jasmine, Azmi, and Hazem, frequently collaborated on the same transactions, despite their claims of working in isolation. This demonstrates a deliberate and collaborative effort among them, contradicting the claim that these were independent, siloed operations,” he said.

Najib, however, added that in government, unlike in the corporate world, there were instances where a secluded, ‘work-to-know’ basis does arise, whenever dealing with sensitive issues and documents, especially those that fell within the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Najib also testified on Tuesday that he had never been to Jho Low’s residence, which has often been alluded to as being where pivotal meetings and the hatching of 1MDB schemes took place.

The ex-PM said that unlike members of 1MDB management, he had never been to Jho Low’s residence at Jalan Kia Peng. He said this, alluding to the management’s “closeness” to the fugitive.

“For the record, I have never been to Jho Low’s residence, nor [am I] aware of it [being] at Jalan Kia Peng; yet, it appears that multiple prosecution witnesses from 1MDB’s management, and my former officer Amhari, had visited his residence frequently. This speaks volumes of the conspiracy of these individuals with Jho Low,” he said.

Najib cited Shahrol, Jasmine, Azmi, and Hazem in his testimony.

During the course of the trial thus far, numerous witnesses have testified of having attended meetings in Jho Low’s private residence at the heart of the city, to discuss 1MDB-related matters.

It has to be noted, however, that none of them have mentioned seeing Najib there.  

In response to Shafee’s query, Najib testified on Tuesday that he only knew of the existence of such a meeting during the course of the trial.

Read also:
Najib: MACC IO deranged, deluded and unversed with diplomacy to suggest that I had G2G meeting on yacht
1MDB-Tanore: Najib says he only learnt details of 2009 bond flip during the trial 
1MDB-Tanore: Najib unsure how Jho Low obtained his mobile number
1MDB-Tanore: Najib reiterates that he never inserted influence in TIA’s federalisation
Najib disputes Ismee and Shahrol’s testimony on IMTN for TIA