Marzuki Che Omar, the director of construction company Tekad Nusantara Sdn Bhd, said he accepted the offer to renovate the bungalow in Country Heights, Kajang in September 2018. He said he was introduced to Zahid by a friend whom he called Said.
“He (Zahid) told me that he wanted to renovate the bungalow as Yayasan Al Falah wanted to use the place for religious studies,” he added.
This follows witness testimonies that Zahid’s brother, Mohamad Nasaee Ahmad Tarmizi, is the chairman of Yayasan Al Falah.
The foundation had paid RM5.9 million for the bungalow via a cheque from law firm Lewis & Co to Bee Garden Holdings Sdn Bhd. The law firm was named in the 27 money laundering charges against Zahid.
Marzuki said he initially quoted Zahid RM1.34 million for the renovation which the latter agreed to pay.
However, he said this rose to RM1.42 million as he needed to perform additional renovation works before he could surrender the unit to Zahid.
“I can confirm that there was no written contract for the works I did, neither did I issue any receipts for the payments received,” he said.
He said Zahid had paid him in cash at Surau An Nur, which is located opposite the bungalow.
“I never inquired into the source of funds,” he said, adding that Zahid had paid him personally.
Zahid’s lawyer Mohd Haziq Dhiyauddin Razali asked Marzuki whether he agreed that the design of the bungalow looked like a religious school or madrasah, to which the contractor said yes.
Another witness, Mohamed Husein Mohammad Annifah, told the court that his employer Omar Ali Abdullah had instructed him to deposit RM100,000 cash into the account of Lewis & Co four years ago.
He said the bank issued two banker’s cheques for the amount after the deposit was made.
The hearing continues before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on July 3 and 14.
Zahid was slapped 47 charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust involving funds from his family-run foundation Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister.
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