Umno Batu Kawan division receives RM100,000 from Najib, High Court told

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KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO Batu Kawan division chief Datuk Mohd Noor Ahmad told the High Court here yesterday that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had given him RM100,000 for the welfare programme for the people in the area

Mohd Noor, 60, who testified at the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial involving Najib, said he had received the money through a cheque from Najib, who was then UMNO president, at the Prime Minister’s Office, in Putrajaya on Aug 6, 2013

“After receiving it, I subsequently deposited the cheque into the UMNO Batu Kawan account

The money was used for welfare programmes and donations to the people in Batu Kawan area in Penang,” he said during a examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Najwa Bistamam on the second day of the trial of Najib who was alleged to have used his position to obtain RM2

3 billion in 1MDB funds as well as 21 money laundering charges involving the same amount

Describing how the fund was obtained, Mohd Noor said he was then acting Batu Kawan UMNO division chief had met with Najib, who was then the prime minister, in his office in Putrajaya

“I informed him (Najib) that the party was in need of funds

He (Najib) later gave me a cheque of RM100,000 on behalf of the UMNO Batu Kawan division,” he said, adding that the cheque had been signed and written by Najib himself

Answering question from Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Mohd Noor, who has been UMNO Batu Kawan division chief since Oct 19, 2013, explained that the RM100,000 was used to assist underprivileged students who wanted to continue their studies at public and private universities

“The money was also allocated to schools in the area to assist schools’ parent-teacher associations’ activities as well as donations to those in need,” he said, adding that the purpose of the money was to benefit the community and not to praise Najib

Asked by Muhammad Shafee whether the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had filed an application for forfeiture (of RM100,000), the sixth prosecution witness said, “No”

Mohd Noor also told the court that the UMNO Batu Kawan account remained frozen for the past year

Najib, 66, who is also Pekan MP, is alleged to have committed four counts of corruption at Jalan Raja Chulan branch of AmIslamic Bank Berhad, at No

55, Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon here between Feb 24, 2011 and Dec 19, 2014

For the 21 money laundering charges, Najib is alleged to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013 and Aug 30, 2013. – Bernama