The prosecution, led by ad hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram, said the purpose was obvious – to find a method to “regularise” the payment the accused wanted to receive.
“The object was to prepare an agreement to conceal the true nature of the payment by Saidi to the accused. The euphemism ‘consultancy’ was used to mask the payment of the bribes,” it said in its written submission filed at the High Court on Tuesday, sighted by FMT.
Assisting Sri Ram in the trial and preparation of the submission were deputy public prosecutors Idham Abdul Ghani, Ahmad Akram Gharib, Mohamed Mustafa Kunyalam and Poh Yin Tinn.
The prosecution said if the payment was a genuine political donation to Rosmah’s husband, then prime minister Najib Razak, it was unnecessary to mask it under a consultancy agreement.
It said Jepak Holdings was keen on obtaining a contract from the education ministry to provide solar hybrid power to schools in Sarawak but its then minister, Mahdzir Khalid, was unsupportive.
Saidi and his then business partner, Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, approached Rosmah’s aide at the time, Rizal Mansor, to secure her help in obtaining the contract.
The prosecution said that at a meeting arranged by Rizal in 2016, Saidi suggested to Rosmah he would make a 10% donation of the contract value to Najib in appreciation of his work.
Rosmah, it claimed, then said much money was required for political purposes and instructed Rizal to take Saidi and Rayyan to meet businessman Desmond Lim.
“This was a signal that the accused had accepted the offer,” it said.
The prosecution said the fictitious agreement was prepared by lawyer Lawrence Tee Kien Moon, who was referred by Lim.
“That agreement has since gone missing but the prosecution submits that Lawrence is a truthful witness and despite the accusations of unethical conduct hurled at him, his credibility remains unshaken.
“He is a disinterested witness. He only came into the picture because the accused sent Saidi, Rayyan and Rizal to meet with Desmond Lim. His evidence is purely of corroborative value,” it said.
Rosmah is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million from Saidi through Rizal as an inducement to help Jepak Holdings secure the solar project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak, costing RM1.25 billion, through direct negotiation with the education ministry.
She is also charged with two counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM6.5 million – RM5 million from Saidi through Rizal at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on Dec 20, 2016 and RM1.5 million from Saidi at her private residence at Langgak Duta here on Sept 7, 2017
The prosecution said Rosmah had solicited a bribe because after Saidi and Rayyan had left her private residence, the accused told Rizal to raise the donation from 10% to 15%.
“It may be added that the defence case is that the monies were a political donation is irrelevant because by definition, a donation is gratification,” it said.
It said Saidi encashed RM1.5 million at a bank and the money was packed in two bags and placed in his vehicle. His driver, Shamsul Rizal Sharbini, drove the vehicle to Rosmah’s private residence in Langgak Duta.
“The photographs and video taken by Rayyan confirm the presence of the bags. Saidi informed Rosmah that he had brought RM1.5 million before both left after a brief meeting,” it said.
It said Rizal, who was in an adjacent sitting room, heard Rosmah instructing her butler to take the bags to her room.
The prosecution submitted that the soliciting of the bribe and the payment of the first and second tranche “were part of one and the same transaction”.
“Accordingly, the direct evidence of the receipt of the RM1.5 million is relevant to the delivery and receipt of the (earlier) RM5 million,” it added.