KUALA LUMPUR (July 8): Former finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz told the High Court on Wednesday that every minute (recorded note) from the prime minister to his Cabinet of ministers is an instruction that needs further action or the government would not function.
Testifying as the 11th prosecution witness in former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s graft trial, Zafrul, who served under Muhyiddin’s government, said Cabinet ministers must act on the prime minister’s minuted instructions, as failing to do so would mean the government was not functioning.
He clarified that based on his experience as the then-finance minister, a minute from the prime minister required follow-up action for consideration, but it was not an outright approval.
“So, in this context where the prime minister is the superior — he is the prime minister (Muhyiddin) and we are in the Cabinet based on his appointment — of course, his minute is an instruction — we have to take action (act on the minute) or else the government does not work,” Zafrul said.
"In this case, all minutes from me — for example, from officers as well — are minutes that require follow-up action. That follow-up action might be accompanied by a recommendation. The recommendation is sometimes to agree, and sometimes to disagree. Depending on the source of authority, I would agree or disagree.
Zafrul said this during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
To a question from Wan Shaharuddin on whether Cabinet would ignore a minute if the prime minister indicated it did not need consideration, Zafrul replied, "Yes, if he (Muhyiddin) minuted that it does not need consideration, of course, then we will not take it into consideration."
In Tuesday’s testimony, Zafrul had agreed with a suggestion by Muhyiddin’s lawyer, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, that every minute was not a mandatory command, and had acknowledged receiving many minutes from Muhyiddin.
After some clarifications sought by presiding judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin, Zafrul was released from the stand.
After a midday break, Zafrul’s former senior private secretary, Datuk Wan Murtadza Wan Mahmud, took the stand as the 12th prosecution witness.
The trial continues on Thursday morning with cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s lawyer, Chetan Jethwani.
In this trial, Muhyiddin, whose full name is Mahiaddin Md Yasin, 79, faces seven charges comprising four counts of abuse of power involving RM225.3 million in alleged gratification, and three counts of money laundering involving RM200 million.
He is alleged to have received bribes from businessman Datuk Azman Yusoff, 51, and three companies, including Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, for the benefit of his political party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Zafrul had previously testified that dozens of contractors were given contracts under the Jana Wibawa programme, without tender, under orders from Muhyiddin.
At the beginning of this trial, Wan Shaharuddin as the lead prosecutor had said that hundreds of millions of ringgit linked to government projects went into accounts belonging to Bersatu.
Wan Shaharuddin acknowledged that the money at the centre of the case had not entered the former prime minister’s personal accounts. Instead, the funds were deposited into accounts belonging to Bersatu.
The DPP said that at the material time, the accused was the president of Bersatu and also the prime minister of Malaysia, and he had an indirect interest in the Jana Wibawa projects.
Jana Wibawa, a programme formally known as "Program Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa", was announced under the Muhyiddin administration to pump-prime the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme was meant to help Bumiputera contractors by speeding up the implementation of government projects.