Rosmah kept quiet when RM187.5 mil ‘political donation’ was made, says witness
Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah says this happened when he and his business partner met her at her home in 2016.
KUALA LUMPUR: A witness told the High Court in Rosmah Mansor’s corruption trial that the former prime minister’s wife “paused for a while” when his Sarawakian business partner offered her more than RM180 million as a “political donation” in assisting their company to obtain a solar project for Sarawak schools.
Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah said this when questioned by Rosmah’s lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader about a meeting he and Saidi Abang Samsudin had with her at the Langgak Duta home sometime in 2016.
Akberdin asked the witness about Rosmah’s reaction when Saidi made the proposal to offer RM187.5 million to her from the project and whether she was “taken by surprise”.
“I don’t think she was taken by surprise. To me, she kept quiet,” Rayyan said.
The lawyer then asked Rayyan about a purported remark the witness claimed Rosmah made during the meeting.
Rayyan had told the court earlier that Rosmah said: “The current political climate needs a lot of money.”
Akberdin: To the best of her recollection, my client never said such a thing. This meeting you and Saidi had took place only for a short while and this happened more than four years ago. Do you agree you cannot attribute this statement to her?
Rayyan: In my recollection, this phrase was used.
The witness also told the court that Rosmah did not immediately agree to Saidi’s offer during the meeting.
The hearing continues before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan on Thursday (July 16).
Rosmah was slapped with three counts of corruption for allegedly soliciting RM187.5 million from Saidi as an inducement to help the company secure the project for 369 schools in rural Sarawak, worth a total of RM1.25 billion, through direct negotiation from the education ministry.
She was also accused of receiving bribes amounting RM6.5 million from Saidi between 2016 and 2017.
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