KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 1): The head of security at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort, Selangor, has testified that then-prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had indeed participated in a golf game at the club on July 19, 2020, with others, including with the managing director of KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd and president of the Bumiputera Contractors Association (PKBM), Datuk Azman Yussof.
Tropicana Golf and Country Resort Group security head S Saravanan, 55, had brought computer records as part of his testimony showing that Muhyiddin participated in a golf game with 14 other players that day.
The other 14 players, whose names were stated on their green fee tags, were Natan, Shahran, Syed Hafiz, Esa, Tony, Azman, Adlan, Faliq, Shahjuan, CDR Sharif, Noor Zilan, Adam, Rashid, and Jared Ethan.
Previously, Azman, who is a key witness in this trial, had testified that it was at a charity golf tournament in July 2020 where he had had an interaction with Muhyiddin, which led to his company securing a RM62 million government road project under the Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa (Jana Wibawa) scheme, after which he paid RM4.8 million in "political donations" to Muhyiddin’s political party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Muhyiddin’s lawyer, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, had previously questioned Azman about the timeline of this meeting.
In Azman’s witness statement before the court, Azman said that the meeting at the golf club after a tournament in July 2020, Muhyiddin had spontaneously told him that any PKBM members who wished to contribute to Bersatu could make the contribution directly to the party rather than to any individual party member.
Amer questioned Azman over the date of the purported event, asserting that the only golf tournament organised by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Charity Golf (TSMCG) in 2020 was held in October, not July as claimed by Azman.
However, during examination-in-chief on Tuesday by deputy public prosecutor Khairunnisa Hazwani Omar, Saravanan confirmed Azman being there and said that it could have been a small golfing event.
"Usually, when played in a small group, we call it a friendly game. On the other hand, a tournament refers to a big group comprising between 40 and 160 players. In this case, there were 15 players," he said.
Muhyiddin’s lawyer questions veracity of computer records
During cross-examination by Muhyuddin’s other counsel Chetan Jethwani, Saravanan told the High Court that a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer had come to the golf club to find out the common date on which Azman and Muhyiddin had played golf together.
Chetan questioned Saravanan’s reliance on information from the system, as he had joined the golf club on Nov 3, 2020, about four months after the event took place.
Chetan: You can't be sure about the accuracy of the information in the system?
Saravanan: I cannot.
Chetan: I am saying to you, it can be modified.
Saravanan: I am not sure about that.
When asked whether the IT department was responsible for the overall system, Saravanan disagreed, saying the system was under his and the golf department's supervision, while the IT department was only consulted when there were malfunctions.
According to court documents and his witness statement, Azman had paid a total of RM4.8 million to Bersatu via eight separate cheques. He said that Muhyiddin had asked him for political donations in exchange for projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.
He admitted that had KCJ Engineering failed to secure the Jana Wibawa project, neither he nor his company would have made any financial contribution to Bersatu.
It should be noted that KCJ Engineering had initially been rejected due to unsatisfactory work performance and a record of "sick" (delayed/failing) projects, before being re-evaluated on the Prime Minister’s Office's instructions.
Muhyiddin, 79, faces seven charges in the trial — four counts of abuse of power involving RM225.3 million in alleged gratification, and three counts of money laundering involving RM200 million. He is accused of receiving bribes from Azman as well as three companies — including Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd — allegedly for the benefit of Bersatu.
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin resumes on Wednesday.