The wife of former prime minister Najib Razak said action should have been taken against at least five prosecution witnesses but this was not carried out.

She said this was “to cover their shame which is of public knowledge now”.

Testifying under oath, Rosmah said these witnesses had instead been called to give evidence against her when she held no position in government and had no authority to approve projects.

The five she mentioned were former education minister Mahdzir Khalid, former education ministry secretaries-general Madinah Mohamad and Alias Ahmad, her former aide Rizal Mansor and Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin.

“This is a cruel and evil act towards my family. This is also malicious prosecution against me,” she said in a hoarse voice.

However, she regained her composure and continued with a few more final paragraphs of her witness statement.

She also apologised to trial judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan for her brief emotional outbreak.

“Sorry, I have gone through a lot,” she told the judge.

Rosmah, 69, is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million from Saidi, through Rizal, as an inducement to help the company secure the solar project through direct negotiation with the education ministry.

She is also accused of two counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM1.5 million in 2016 and another RM5 million in 2017 from Saidi.

In her witness statement, she also identified Aazmey Abu Talib, a former Pekan Umno division secretary, who obtained corrupt money from Saidi and his assistant Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah to help secure the project.

Earlier, Rosmah said the prosecution was out of line in labelling her as having an “overbearing nature” and also having the “ability to influence decisions in the public sector”.

On Feb 18, Zaini also allowed the prosecution’s application to admit as evidence an audio recording purportedly of a conversation between her and husband Najib Razak over the 1MDB issue.

The recording would now entitle the court to evaluate Rosmah’s disposition like her overbearing nature as stated in the prosecution’s opening statement.

The last time around, the court heard the first 10 seconds of the recording where Rosmah was heard telling Najib, “Can I advise you something?” with the former prime minister telling his wife that he needed to get into the car first.

(Former education minister) Mahdzir had previously testified that the woman’s voice in the recording was that of Rosmah while the man’s voice belonged to Najib.

Rosmah today said the conversation, as recorded in the audio, is a private matter between a husband and wife, and that she was giving her opinion while Najib was listening.

“Whether he accepts my opinion is beside the point. This is a fact in a relationship with a spouse. In the audio, I was not imposing that he accept my views,” she said.

She added that her 34 years of marriage would not have lasted if she was a dominant person.

“In any event, the conversation with Najib has nothing to do with the solar project,” she said, adding that the matter as raised by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram was a surprise.

Hearing before Zaini continues.

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