PUTRAJAYA (Jan 9): The alleged meeting with Saudi Arabia's then-ruler, King Abdullah, at which purported donations were allegedly promised to then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, were never mentioned in the "donation" letter, the High Court heard on Thursday.

Najib, who was testifying in his defence in the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial, was answering deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Kamal Baharin Omar's query on the absence of mention of the meeting in the first donation letter issued in February 2011.

Kamal: You agree that the letter is related to the meeting with King Abdullah in 2010?

Najib: Yes.

Kamal: You agree with me that the meeting was not mentioned in the letter?

Najib: No, it doesn't refer to the meeting.

Previously, the now-imprisoned former prime minister reiterated that the funds at the heart of this trial were donations resulting from a private meeting with King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia in 2010, where Najib was specifically told that he would be given financial assistance for the upcoming 2013 general elections to ensure his return to power.

Najib said that he received letters confirming the donations, "through his [King Abdullah’s] royal representatives" and these were extended to AmBank and the central bank.

There were a total of four donation letters issued from 2011 to 2014, and none of them contained King Abdullah's name, nor made mention of the meeting.

The letters instead came from former governor of Madinah Province, Prince Saud Abdulaziz Al Saud. The letters state that the monies were a gift for Najib's contributions to the Islamic world.

On Thursday, DPP Kamal also asked if Prince Saud was present during the 2010 meeting, to which Najib answered in the negative.

Najib also reiterated that Prince Saud was a part of the Saudi royal family.

Kamal also pointed out the different verbiage in Najib's own testimony. He said that Najib had used the phrase "supporting financially" and later said that it was "political donations".

To this, Najib said that these words mean almost the same thing.

The letters were all also addressed to Najib's private residence in Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur. But when asked how the Saudi royal knew the address, Najib said he was unsure.

Kamal: So how he knew your address?

Najib: I'm not sure. There is no issue [as to] from where they got my address because it is public knowledge.

Kamal: Where? Is it on a website?

Najib: I don't know but many people know.

Kamal: But I don't know.

Najib: If you try hard enough, you will find it.

Najib also testified that he had voiced his interest in meeting with the Saudi king, and they had tried to get an audience via two channels: through official diplomatic channels, and through fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low). 

The ex-PM said that Jho Low knew King Abdullah's son, Prince Turki.

Again on Thursday, Najib said that they used Jho Low as a conduit because of Jho Low’s relationship with royalty.

Najib said that the 2010 meeting in Saudi Arabia was also attended by then-foreign affairs minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Malaysia’s then-ambassador to Saudi Arabia Professor Datuk Syed Omar Alsagoff, and then-minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.

It has to be noted that during the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial, Mohd Nasharudin Amir, who was the then-assistant commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had testified that Jamil was in Malaysia on the date the purported meeting took place.

Nasharudin had told the High Court that an article in a bulletin published by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) stated that Jamil Khir was in fact addressing a gathering in Putrajaya on that day.

There were pictures of the then-minister giving his address at an auditorium in Putrajaya, said Nasharudin, who had brought along a copy of the bulletin to show in court.

In his decision to order Najib to enter his defence, presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah had ruled that the donation letters were dubious.

The trial continues on Friday. 

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