The former Sabah infrastructure development minister told the sessions court here he also did not falsify the support letter.
He also denied deceiving prosecution witnesses, namely, his friend Shukur Mohd Din; former UMS deputy vice-chancellor Shariff Abd Kadir Shariff Omang; Ulink Property Sdn Bhd former chairman Abdullah Mohd Said; and former UMS vice-chancellor Harun Abdullah.
Peter was being cross-examined by deputy public prosecutor Shaharuddin Wan Ladin during his trial on the charge of falsifying the support letter.
Earlier, Najib as the 12th prosecution witness, testified that he felt angry over being deceived through the support letter for the maintenance and electrical (M&E) contract work at UMS which was given to Peter’s company.
Peter, 51, stated that he had direct access to Najib due to his good relationship and close friendship with Najib’s chief private secretary, the late Azlin Alias.
Questioned by Wan Shaharuddin whether he had personally met Najib to lobby for any project, Peter said yes because his company was a registered construction company with many workers.
Wan Shaharuddin: So, Datuk (Peter) had an advantage over the other companies in getting a project as you had access to the prime minister to lobby for it.
Peter: Perhaps my company had the edge.
Peter, however, disagreed with the prosecution’s contention that there were companies quietly using a third party to get the M&E contract job through open tender.
Questioned by his counsel S Devanandah whether he and his company, Asli Jati Engineering, had any interest if he got the contract, Peter said it would not benefit his company solely but UMS, too, without it providing the capital.
Peter’s personal driver, Imy Christopher, 36, testified that Shukor had never come to Peter’s office at Plaza Damai in Kota Kinabalu and that she had never met the man at the office.
Imy, the second defence witness, also testified that she was the only person, aside from Peter, who had access to his office computer because she knew the password.
The hearing before judge Azura Alwi will continue on Feb 18.
Last Dec 14, the sessions court ordered Peter to make his defence against the charge of falsifying the support letter dated June 9, 2014 and purportedly from the UMS deputy vice-chancellor’s office for the purpose of cheating after the prosecution managed to prove a prima facie case against him.
He allegedly committed the offence at the late Azlin’s office at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014.
The offence under Section 468 of the Penal Code provides for a jail term of up to seven years and a fine upon conviction.