Najib told me Saudi will give financial aid, ex-ambassador tells 1MDB trial

Najib told me Saudi will give financial aid, ex-ambassador tells 1MDB trial



Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is escorted to stand trial at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on December 4, 2024. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

Monday, 10 Feb 2025 6:01 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, Feb 10 — Then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Saudi Arabia would give financial aid after he spoke privately with the late Saudi ruler King Abdullah in 2010, Malaysia’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Syed Omar Syed Mohamad Al-Saggaf told the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial today.

However, Syed Omar, 81, confirmed he did not hear what the Saudi king said to Najib.

In this trial, Najib has claimed that the over RM2 billion that had entered his private bank accounts was not money belonging to 1MDB, insisting that the money was a donation from Saudi Arabia that King Abdullah had promised to him.

Testifying in Najib’s 1MDB trial as the fifth defence witness, Syed Omar said there was an unofficial meeting on January 11, 2010 between Najib and King Abdullah at the Saudi ruler’s palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, just before the Malaysian prime minister’s official visit from January 13 to January 16.

Syed Omar said this unofficial meeting was also attended by him as Malaysia’s ambassador and as interpreter, foreign affairs minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, religious affairs minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and an interpreter.

Syed Omar said the unofficial meeting had a meeting agenda that included “financial assistance from Saudi Arabia”, but said he does not know if it was Malaysia that had asked for the financial aid from Saudi Arabia.

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar what the term financial aid meant, Syed Omar replied: “What it is, I don’t know, I just know there is financial aid, but in what form, I don’t know.”

While saying that King Abdullah had in the unofficial meeting offered his “help” to ensure that the same government continues to govern Malaysia, Syed Omar again said he did not know what form this assistance would be in.

He said Najib had thanked King Abdullah for the latter’s offer to help.

After the official discussion of the meeting ended, Syed Omar said he saw King Abdullah and Najib distancing themselves and walking towards the middle of the meeting hall and being in an intense discussion, and Jamil Khir also following the two of them.

Syed Omar said Jamil Khir was following Najib and King Abdullah quite closely, and there was also the Saudi Arabian palace’s interpreter there.

After the meeting ended and while on the way out from the meeting hall to the Malaysian delegation’s cars, Syed Omar said Najib had himself told him that King Abdullah would be giving assistance.

Syed Omar said Najib looked happy and came to him saying that “we got this assistance”, adding that Najib had mentioned “financial assistance”.

Syed Omar said he does not know anything else, as the time they had to speak was very brief as they were heading to the cars.

In his written witness statement, Syed Omar had said he was made to understood by Najib himself that King Abdullah had offered help in the form of money that would be sent for Najib’s use for his political use for the coming election.

But when asked by Kamal Baharin if he did not hear what King Abdullah actually told Najib, Syed Omar confirmed this: “Didn’t hear, because I’m behind a bit.”

Previously, Najib also told the 1MDB trial that he and King Abdullah were having sensitive discussions while located further away from the Malaysian delegation, and that the Malaysian delegation could not have heard what was discussed despite being in the same room.

Earlier, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution department’s head Gunasekaran Tholasy who was subpoenaed as the third defence witness had testified about the period when four prosecution witnesses were contributing to the EPF savings as 1MDB employees, and also the monthly amount that 1MDB had contributed as their employer.

Earlier today, Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah applied for the defence’s legal team to be given all the statements recorded by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigators of defence witnesses which the prosecution had offered.

Shafee said this would enable Najib’s lawyers to decide whether to call in these potential defence witnesses, and that they would drop individuals from the list of defence witnesses if the statements does not help his case.

Shafee listed the names of these potential defence witnesses, stating 16 names including Wong and Partners lawyers, former 1MDB directors, former 1MDB senior officials, former Terengganu menteri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, former minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, police and MACC officers.

Shafee claimed this was not a “fishing expedition”.

Deputy public prosecutor Deepa Nair Thevaharan objected to this application as she said those statements recorded during investigation are privileged documents, and as there is a need to avoid “witness tampering”.

Trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah will make a decision on this matter on a later date.

Najib’s 1MDB trial resumes this Wednesday.