Madinah Mohamad, who was the secretary-general, said she had asked then minister, Mahdzir Khalid, to tell Najib that the solar project, suggested by Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, could not be implemented because of a lack of funds and information regarding the project.
Previously, Mahdzir had told the court that he asked Najib to postpone the issuance of the award letter to Jepak Holdings but Najib was adamant.
“In running a ministry like the education ministry, there is an established hierarchy where the secretary-general reports to the minister. It was not for me to overstep my boundary and go straight to the prime minister,” she said when questioned by ad-hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram over the suggestion by the defence that she ought to have told Najib about the solar project.
Earlier, Rosmah’s lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader repeatedly challenged Madinah, saying she had failed to exercise her duty as a civil servant in not reporting to Najib her doubts about the solar project.
Akberdin said Madinah had endorsed the project and awarded it to Jepak Holdings in 2016 but had come to court today to criticise the project.
The lawyer asked: “Did you take your own initiative to meet the prime minister to explain that this project should not be implemented?”.
Madinah said she had not been in a position to do so and that she had to respect the hierarchy.
She disagreed with Akberdin’s suggestion that she had tried to suppress the information from Najib.
When Akberdin wanted to ask questions related to Madinah’s personal life, saying it was his “client’s (Rosmah) instructions”, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib objected, saying the questions seemed to insult the witness and were unrelated to Rosmah’s corruption case.
High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan then disallowed further questions that touched on Madinah’s personal life and ordered that the questions be expunged from the notes of proceedings.
The hearing continues on Feb 20.
Rosmah is charged with three counts of corruption for allegedly soliciting RM187.5 million from Jepak Holdings’ managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin as an inducement to help the company secure the Hybrid Photovoltaic Solar System Integrated Project and Maintenance and Operation of Genset/Diesel for 369 rural schools in Sarawak, worth a total of RM1.25 billion through direct negotiations with the education ministry.
She is also accused of receiving bribes amounting to RM6.5 million from Saidi between 2016 and 2017.