I Assume Donation Letters From Saudi Arabia Are Genuine - Najib

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court here today that he did not inquire as to the authenticity of the donation letters from Saudi Arabia as he assumed the letters were genuine.

The former premier said he received the letters from his (then) principal private secretary Datuk Azlin Alias (now deceased), thus assumed the letters were genuine and did not inquire as to their authenticity.

Najib, 71, said this when re-examined by his lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin at the trial of his case for misappropriation of RM2.3 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.

Wan Azwan Aiman: Datuk Seri, the prosecution also asserted the fact that the funds did not originate from King Abdullah for the simple reason that you did not, at any point, write a letter to thank the late King Abdullah. What do you have to say about this assertion made by the prosecution?

“I don't think so…You can thank people in many ways. You can thank them by writing a letter. You can also thank them personally. I was of the opinion that it would be more courteous for me to thank him personally rather than writing a letter. 

“And the second reason is that a letter can easily fall into the wrong hands, and the element of secrecy is important in such matter,” explained Najib.

Today, Najib also reiterated that he had no direct interest in 1MDB and maintained that the money entered into his account was from the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

On Oct 30 last year, Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.

Najib, 71, faces 25 charges, including four charges of using his position to obtain RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds as bribes and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.

The hearing continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA