News by Syahirah Syed Jaafar

The questioning of Madinah, who is the sixth witness, at one point heated up as defence lawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader continued to press on her purported negligence in reporting her concerns to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.

Counsel Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader told Madinah that she appeared to believe that the solar hybrid gensets proposed by Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd were not suitable as some of the schools are located in areas covered by deep forests where sunlight may be blocked.

However, she did not express her reservations despite her ministry being instructed by the former prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, to implement the project speedily.

"This project was given through direct negotiations and needed to be processed by the Government Procurement Division of the Finance Ministry."

Former education ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Madinah Mohamad (pictured), the sixth witness in Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s graft trial.

This was revealed by Madinah when reading her witness statement before Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

Mahdzir, who is the fifth prosecution witness in the trial, disagreed with a suggestion from Rosmah's counsels Datuk Jagjit Singh and Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader that the appointed law firm had “brokered” a deal for him.

Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan called for the lunch break, with proceedings originally set to continue in the afternoon as Rosmah's lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh had yet to finish his cross-examination of the fifth prosecution witness, former education minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

Mahdzir, however, said as it was a project under the purview of the Education Ministry, it did not require reporting to either the Cabinet or the Dewan Rakyat.

Lead defence lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh, in his cross-examination of Mahdzir, put it to the former minister that there was not a "Team Saidi", but in fact a "Team Mahdzir" leading the project.