Rosiah Osman, who worked for Zahid from 1994 to 2011, said the replica signature was only meant to be used on festive greeting cards and certificates of appreciation.

She said the stamp was made to relieve Zahid of the burden of having to sign cards and certificates.

“Signing them one by one would have been very tiring,” said Rosiah. She said Zahid used to issue more than 4,000 greeting cards and about 500 certificates.

She told the court that when she left in 2011, she handed over the stamp, along with other items such as Zahid’s cheque books and work diaries to Major Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly.

Asked by Zahid’s lawyer Hamidi Noh whether the witness told her successor that the stamp was not to be used on cheques, Rosiah answered in the affirmative.

Rosiah said she told Mazlina that Zahid’s personal cheques were to be used for payment of his personal credit card expenditure, while Yayasan Akalbudi’s cheques could be used to reimburse Zahid if he used his cards to buy items, such as electrical appliances and furniture, for mosques.

Rosiah also said that after she left, Mazlina never contacted her to ask about work-related matters.

Testifying in 2020, Mazlina told the court that Zahid had allowed his officers to use the stamp bearing his signature to make credit card payments using Yayasan Akalbudi cheques.

The defence contends that Mazlina is the reason why Zahid is facing criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges over the alleged misuse of Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

Zahid is standing trial on charges of money laundering and CBT involving millions from Yayasan Akalbudi, and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister.

Twelve of the charges are for CBT, eight for corruption and the remainder for money laundering.

The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Wednesday.