In responding to deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam’s question during chief examination, he said that he did not get “a single sen” from funds raised through the issuance of 1MDB bonds.
“No, I did not receive anything from the funds raised throughout the time I was the COO (chief operating officer) and CEO,” Hazem added.
The witness also told the court that his monthly salary was RM65,000 when he joined 1MDB as COO in 2012, and this was increased to RM93,000 when he took over from Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi as CEO.
“My last drawn salary as CEO in 2015 was RM97,000. I also received 10 months bonus in 2014,” Hazem said.
Hazem left 1MDB on Jan 5, 2015 and was replaced by Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
Meanwhile, when cross-examined by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on whether he was “headhunted” by Shahrol as COO, Hazem said that was not the case.
“It was my former boss in Arab-Malaysian Merchant Bank (Ambank), Nor Badli Mohd Alias who informed me about the COO vacancy,” he said, adding that Badli also knew the then 1MDB director Ismee Ismail.
Shafee: Are you sure Badli was not informed by Jho Low? Basically, Jho Low had (known) almost everyone in Ambank.
Hazem: I don’t think Badli knows Jho Low because he was no longer working with Arab Merchant in 2012.
The witness also said Shahrol interviewed him for the job at a hotel in Petaling Jaya.
To another question about his knowledge on company law and whether he was aware that the board of directors owe a duty of care to the company, Hazem said directors have to act in the best interest of the shareholder.
“I come from a school of thought where directors acted in the interest of its shareholder,” he added.
Shafee then remarked, “you just turned company law upside down”, to which Hazem responded by saying, “maybe I am not fully aware of company law”.
The hearing continues before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Oct 5.
Najib was slapped with 25 charges for abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.