KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): Ung Su Ling, the former chief executive officer of Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia or YR1M, told the High Court here that the late Datuk Azlin Alias' instructions to transfer millions of ringgit from the charity to Datuk Seri Najib Razak's personal accounts were not given in Azlin's official capacity as a trustee of the foundation.
Ung is testifying in the RM42 million civil suit against the former prime minister brought by SRC International Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd.
She told the court that there were no written directives from the foundation's board authorising the fund transfer.
"It was not in relation to his capacity as a trustee (of the Yayasan) because it was not in relation to the Yayasan," she stated during cross-examination on Monday.
When pressed by Najib's counsel, Muhammad Farhan Shafee, Ung conceded that she wasn't compelled to follow such arbitrary instructions, as they weren't directly tied to the foundation's affairs.
Farhan: There is nothing in the Yayasan's policies and your employment contract which would compel you to follow the instruction.
Ung: From a legal standpoint, yeah, there is nothing to compel.
Ung, who served as the foundation's CEO from January 2013 to May 2018, testified that she was not in the "habit to question the wisdom" of the charity's board of trustees.
"He was the principal private secretary of the (then) PM of Malaysia. You are not going to query him on who, what, how. . . It is not my place to inquire with the bosses on this," she said.
Ung had previously testified that Azlin had informed her that funds would soon be transferred to a bank account maintained by Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd (IPSB), another SRC International subsidiary. Ung was then to instruct IPSB's managing director, Datuk Seri Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman, on where to transfer the funds.
In December 2014, Azlin instructed Ung to tell Shamsul to transfer RM27 million to an AmIslamic account named "AmPrivate Banking – 1MY" (Account 880) and RM5 million to an AmIslamic account named "AmPrivate Banking – MY" (Account 906). Ung testified that she was unaware at the time that these were Najib's personal accounts.
In February 2015, Azlin gave Ung further instructions to have Shamsul transfer an additional RM10 million to Account 880.
YR1M, a charity organisation established in January 2013, was created by Najib based on the principles of his 1Malaysia vision to improve the quality of life for those in need.
It was overseen by a four-member board of trustees, which included Azlin, Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, and the prime minister's special officer at the time, Datuk Wan Ahmad Shihab Wan Ismail. The trustees were responsible for approving proposed social programmes and their budgets.
In 2013, YR1M partnered with IPSB to carry out corporate social responsibility projects.
The trial before Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan will continue at a later date.