Najib-SRC: KWAP witness defends statement, insists loans to SRC amongst largest extended while she worked at fund

KUALA LUMPUR (May 9): A director at Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) had to defend her witness statement today, particularly the portion stating that the financing provided to SRC International Sdn Bhd was amongst the largest she had seen throughout her experience serving in the civil servant retirement fund. 

KWAP vice president for Investment settlement department, which now renamed to Investment support services department (ISSD), Dr Amirah Muhamad Nor, 60, insisted she intended to make the statement. 

The statement was highlighted in the High Court today, during the 16th day of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC trial where he faces charges of misappropriating funds from the company. 

Defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh was “amazed” that the particular paragraph on this matter in Amirah’s witness statement was completely identical with a paragraph which appeared in another witness' statement presented in Court earlier. 

In his witness statement, former assistant vice-president at KWAP Amirul Imran Ahmat said the RM4 billion loans extended to SRC was the biggest he had ever seen during his time at the retirement fund. 

However, in court today, the amount that Amirah was referring to in her witness statement was not mentioned. 

“Are these your words? Or the word of someone else,” Harvinderjit asked. 

The witness replied that the words were her own. 

Amirah further clarified that it was her that provided such information, and was assisted by MACC officer in preparing the witness statement. 

"At the end of the day, they (MACC) gave you a document, but the information comes from you," Harvinderjit asked, to which Amirah agreed. 

Amirah then confirmed that the information in the witness statement came from her, which she conveyed to MACC, whose officer then assisted her in preparing the statement.  

She also said she recorded her witness statement alone, without any other witness present. 

Amirah, the 34th prosecution witness, insisted that she had willingly said in her statement that the two RM2 billion loans to SRC was amongst the largest she had seen during her tenure in KWAP. 

"I wanted to put this," she said, before Harvinderjit ended his cross-examination. 

During re-examination session, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul requested for Amirah to confirm that all information provided in her witness statement are true, which she did.

Earlier during Amirah’s testimonial, she also mentioned that she was only involved in the disbursement of the second RM2 billion loan to SRC because when the first RM2 billion loan was given out, she was on leave, so it was signed off by her colleague, Ambalagam R Marappan, 61, who was the director of KWAP’s account and management services department. 

Ambalagam, who is also the prosecution’s 33rd witness, confirmed that he was the one who signed off the disbursement of the first RM2 billion loan to SRC, but was not involved in preparing the loan.

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