Rosmah shakes head in disbelief
KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was left shaking her head in disbelief as the prosecution laid out its case against her and witnesses started testifying in her corruption case yesterday.
Rosmah arrived at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex here from the hospital she was admitted to after claims of suffering from acute neck and joint pains.
She was seen shaking her head from side to side whenever she heard damning parts read out.
Some of her aides and supporters, who sat behind her, were seen patting her on the back as if to calm her.
Rosmah, 69, the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was greeted by her husband when his SRC International Sdn Bhd trial stood down about noon.
Najib walked into the courtroom and patted his wife on the shoulder before taking a seat in the public gallery behind her.
He gave her a mini hug before leaving the courtroom.
The first witness in Rosmah’s case, Huzairi Zainal Abidin, who is former deputy director of the Prime Minister’s Office’s Human Resources Department, said Rosmah was allotted a special officer to facilitate her role as the prime minister’s wife.
He said the then chief private secretary to the prime minister, Tan Sri Ab Aziz Kasim, had instructed that a special division be established to handle programmes involving Rosmah.
The division, he said, was named the First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM) Division, but he could not remember who instructed it to be named as such.
He said the division was located at the Prime Minister’s Office, but Rosmah did not have an office there.
However, he said, the division was included in the directory of the Prime Minister’s Office until the then opposition objected to it.
“The use of FLOM became a big issue as some were of the view that the first lady of Malaysia should be the Raja Permaisuri Agong. Due to this, the FLOM division was renamed,” he said.
The second witness, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officer Mohd Redzuan Othaman, 26, revealed how he had taken pictures of Rosmah’s residence in Jalan Langgak Duta here in November 2018.
He said among the shots was the hall where Rosmah was accused of receiving a bribe of RM1.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin.
The third prosecution witness, Maybank bank officer Azimah Aziz, 38, testified that Saidi had withdrawn RM5 million in RM100 notes on Dec 19, 2016.
She said Saidi withdrew another RM1.5 million on Sept 7, 2017, in RM100 notes.
Azimah said she asked Saidi why he needed the money and he informed her that it was for business.
“He did not seem eager to say anything more, so I left it at that. I than gave him the RM100 notes, which were tied together in 15 rolls over the counter at the cash room of our bank,” she said, adding Saidi left with the money in two backpacks accompanied by another man.
The trial before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan continues.