Najib ordered diesel genset project replaced with solar hybrid without pilot test – witness

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was yesterday told that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had ordered the diesel genset project to be replaced with a solar hybrid project for rural schools in Sarawak as proposed by Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, without a pilot test.

Former Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad, 63, said Najib issued a directive which stated “‘please implement as per my previous minute” to Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid in a minute dated June 7, 2016.

“With that minute, the pilot test and study on the solar hybrid project could not be continued because pilot testing and detailed study took a long time to complete.

“Apart from that, the decision and extent of the implementation of the solar hybrid project would depend on inputs from the pilot test and study,” she said when reading out her witness statement on the sixth day of Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s corruption trial on the solar energy project.

Madinah, who is also a former auditor-general, said the directive by Najib was issued within a short period from the protest made by (Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin’s business partner) Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah over the implementation of the solar hybrid on a pilot project.

“Rayyan also did not want the pilot test to be carried out as it would delay the process of approving the project to Jepak and Jepak would have to bear financial risk if the pilot test failed,” he said during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib.

Madinah, who is the sixth prosecution witness, said the solar hybrid project received the “PM’s” (referring to Najib) support ) as often mentioned by Rayyan.

“I found that Datuk Seri Mahdzir immediately agreed to implement the solar hybrid project after receiving the minute from Datuk Seri Najib. In fact, Datuk Seri Mahdzir instructed me to take immediate action to get the solar hybrid project implemented,” she added.

She told the court that from her experience, despite Najib being fond of giving directives through minutes or letters, the former prime minister seldom asked for feedback from the ministry on his directives, except in special cases. - Bernama