‘Thrown under the bus’: Najib disagrees he’s to blame in 1MDB, claims was uneasy with Jho Low

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 17 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today disagreed with Low Taek Jho’s attempt to “throw him under the bus” and pin all the blame of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal on him.

Najib said this in the High Court while responding to an April 1, 2015 article by business and finance magazine Euromoney, where Low tried to shift the blame from himself to Najib by suggesting that the focus should be on the “ultimate decision-maker” on 1MDB and the shareholder’s role instead.

MDB was owned by the Minister of Finance (MOF) Incorporated, which comes under the Finance Ministry. Najib, who was the prime minister, had signed off on shareholder resolutions for 1MDB on behalf of the MOF Inc as he was finance minister then.

In an excerpt of the Euromoney article which was read out to Najib, Low questioned if the prime minister does not make his own decisions, and if individuals at the Finance Ministry such as the finance minister would sign off on shareholder resolutions without evaluating them.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam today asked: “The highlighted part which I read out, the interview by Jho Low which placed the blame on the 1MDB shareholder, namely you yourself, agree or not, based on this article? Jho Low has thrown you under the bus, so to say, and blamed the shareholder.”

Najib replied: “I disagree because I comply with corporate governance. The corporate governance is clear, the shareholder comes later, what is important is the board and management.”

Throughout his testimony today in his own 1MDB trial where over RM2 billion of 1MDB funds allegedly entered his personal accounts, Najib said his practice was to only sign shareholder resolutions to approve 1MDB decisions after the 1MDB board had made its decision.

Najib disagreed with Low’s remarks that suggested the 1MDB blame should be on the shareholder, saying: “I don’t agree, because in the company we have the management and the board, and my role as shareholder is I’m discharging my official duty, that’s all.”

Najib said no one had brought this Euromoney article to his attention or told him about it, and that he had not looked at it.

Najib also confirmed that local financial publication The Edge’s owner Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong had on March 6, 2015 had told him that Low had committed wrongdoing and should be probed and prosecuted, but stressed that he did not ask Tong to leave the house after hearing about this.

Najib disagreed that he had opened and shown Tong to the door of his house because he did not like what he heard from Tong.

When asked if this March 2015 meeting with Tong increased his suspicion towards Low’s role in 1MDB, Najib said it increased his “ketidakyakinan” (lack of trust) then.

Mustaffa suggested that Najib’s suspicion towards Low should have increased after the March 2015 meeting with Tong and after the April 2015 Euromoney article, with Najib saying: “Yes, I doubted, but at that time, no firm proof yet.”

When it was pointed out that no action was taken on Low, Najib said he was waiting for the report from the Malaysian agencies that were carrying out investigations.

When suggested that he had chosen to shut his eyes to the obvious despite the red flags against Low, Najib said he had taken action by directing the PAC to carry out a probe and that he had never stopped agencies from investigating 1MDB.

Najib also said that the then attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s termination was unrelated to 1MDB and that he did not order for the 1MDB task force to be dissolved.

Najib disagreed that he should have started distancing himself from Low and that he should have taken actions on the latter after his suspicions grew.

Najib also disagreed that his failure to distance himself from Low was a breach of the Code of Ethics for Members of the Administration. This was a code of conduct issued by the Prime Minister’s Department in 1997 and which also applied to him.

Mustaffa read out item 8(iii) of the Code of Ethics, where members of the administration --- such as Najib then --- were required to always be careful and show exemplary behaviour, and to avoid from being involved with “undesirable characters” that could harm their reputation as they would always be targeted, and to avoid any actions that could cause suspicion.

Najib disagreed he should have avoided having relations with Low to comply with item 8(3), saying: “I was not so comfortable with him, but I left this to the investigating agencies, which I refer to the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) which made studies.”

Najib was then asked about his reliance on Low to make logistics arrangements for his then special officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin’s visit to China in June 2016 and Low’s role in introducing senior Chinese officials to Amhari, despite Najib’s claims of suspicions towards Low as early as 2015.

But Najib said Low played a role in the China visit “because we have bigger interests” and because there was a desire to achieve matters for “national interest”.

An undated file photograph of fugitive financier Low Taek Jho. — Picture via Facebook

About Jho Low at family holidays and at PM’s office

Najib today acknowledged that Low was seen with him during family holidays on yachts owned by Middle East royalty, but said that was because Low was representing the yacht owners.

“I want to say that I have other holidays where he is not there at all. I don’t want there to be an impression that each time I holiday, Jho Low is there, it’s not true. There were many holidays, visits of mine where he was not there,” he said, suggesting that the prosecution had only singled out a few holidays where Low was present because of his links to the yacht owners.

Asked about 1MDB former chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh’s court testimony that Low was also seen at his offices and private residence, Najib said: “Ya, many people come to my office, ok? This prime minister’s office, there are many who come.”

Najib disagreed that Low was involved in all of 1MDB’s affairs, as he said all 1MDB matters went through the 1MDB board and management and that it was the board which made the final decision.

Najib disagreed that he was using Low to orchestrate transfers of money to various entities before it eventually ended up in his account, saying that there was no evidence that he was involved in the money transfers.

“I have no knowledge of money coming into my account, ok,” Najib said.

When Mustaffa then said “but nevertheless you knew how to spend the money”, Najib replied: “That was based on the donation by King Abdullah that as far as I know, the money came from Saudi, that’s it.”

When suggested that money originating from 1MDB ended up in his personal bank account, Najib said the extent of his knowledge was that the money was from Saudi Arabia, before disagreeing that Low was his mirror image in 1MDB matters.

Among other things, Najib today confirmed that he did not know about what he was signing on in June 22, 2012 shareholder resolutions regarding a 1MDB matter, saying: “Because this is my official duty, because the board has agreed, so I just signed lah.”

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar if he had just signed the document because the 1MDB board had allegedly agreed to the same matter, Najib said: “Yes, the board is very professional. I am confident with the board and didn’t want to micromanage, I as the shareholder should have trust towards the board.”

Asked if he had signed it first without making any queries and without knowing anything of what he was signing, Najib merely said he was confident with the 1MDB board.

As for other shareholder resolutions shown to Najib today, he did however said he knew in general about what he was signing, and continued to say that he signed them only after the board had signed its resolutions.

Najib’s 1MDB trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes next Monday.