Testifying in his 1MDB case, Najib said he had made a “brief” statement about the matter at a Cabinet meeting.

However, Najib said he did not mention that the support was to come in the form of a “personal donation” from the Saudi king.

“(The donation) was given personally to me,” Najib said under cross-examination.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Kamal Baharin Omar then reminded Najib that under the code of ethics, Cabinet members were obliged to declare all gifts or payments received, as such items may undermine their integrity.

Asked whether he had declared the purported donation, Najib replied in the negative.

“I don’t think (the donation) would have undermined my integrity,” the former prime minister said, adding that the gift was not intended to influence any Cabinet decision.

Najib also told the court that he knew “Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saud” to be a member of the Saudi royal family but was unaware of the nature of “Saud’s” relationship with King Abdullah.

“The important thing was he is a member of the Saudi royal family,” he said, pointing out that the letters bore a royal emblem.

DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib then pointed to the contents of the letters received from “Saud”, saying they appeared to be written in a personal capacity.

“The writer did not mention he was sending them on behalf of the (royal) family. He even (referred to a) ‘friendship’ that had developed ‘over the years’, but you said you never met ‘Saud’,” Akram said.

In reply, Najib insisted that the letters were penned under King Abdullah’s instructions.

“He wouldn’t have done it on his own,” he added.

The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Jan 14.

Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting to RM2.28 billion which were deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.