The former prime minister told the High Court here that each of the directors had a good track record in the corporate circle.
“I must have full trust and confidence in them. It is a humanly impossible and humongous task to micro-manage a company,” he said under re-examination by lawyer Shafee Abdullah in a US$1.18 billion (RM5 billion) civil lawsuit brought by SRC.
Asked whether he had developed an independent mechanism to verify if his directives were being properly carried out, Najib said he did not feel anything was amiss in SRC at that time.
In the case of 1MDB, Najib said he had directed the Public Accounts Committee to conduct an inquiry, and the auditor-general to audit the company’s financial status.
He said he expected all SRC directors to act in accordance with their fiduciary duties.
SRC, then a subsidiary of 1MDB, came under the purview of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) as the government was its parent company’s sole shareholder.
Najib, who was also finance minister, said MoF Inc and Khazanah Nasional Bhd owned hundreds of companies.
He said he did not impose his authority over SRC but was instead guided by decisions made by the company’s board of directors.
“I merely endorsed their decisions. No untoward things would happen if everyone plays their role,” he added.
Najib said as prime minister, he also had overarching authority in Petronas, as provided for under the law, but never abused it.
“The prime minister can give directives which must be implemented. The Petronas memorandum and articles of association also state that the company chairman is the proxy of the prime minister.
“The board and the management cannot question the authority of the prime minister. But during my tenure as prime minister I never gave directions,” he added.
Najib said Petronas was cash rich when he left office, with RM176 billion in its coffers.
Najib is named the first defendant in the suit, with former SRC CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as co-defendant.
SRC, now under a new management, filed the suit in May 2021, accusing Najib and Nik Faisal of breach of trust, abuse of power, personally benefitting from the company’s funds and misappropriating the said funds.
Nik Faisal, who is at large, did not enter an appearance in the suit and is not defending it.
The company is seeking a court declaration holding Najib and Nik Faisal accountable for losses suffered due to their alleged breaches of duty and trust, and wants them to compensate it for the losses incurred.
The trial before Justice Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin came to a close today and a case management will be held on Oct 29 to schedule submissions.