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KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): On Thursday (March 4) the High Court was informed that Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi received two checks valued at RM6 thousand from Datasonic Group Berhad (DGB) Deputy Managing Director Chew Ben Ben, who it was then turned over to Messrs. Lewis & Co.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigative officer Mohd Hizar Farhan Abdul Razi, 32, said Chew delivered both checks to Ahmad Zahid at the former Deputy Prime Minister’s official residence in Seri Satria, Putrajaya in 2017.
The court had been informed prior to this that Lewis & Co was the manager of Yayasan Akalbudi owned by Ahmad Zahid.
On the basis of charges 14 and 15, it is alleged that Ahmad Zahid received bribes worth RM6 thousand from Chew as an incentive to appoint Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB) to implement a five-year passport chip project, or 12 , 5 million chips for the Malaysian. passport polycarbonate biodata page for the Immigration Department through direct negotiations at the Ministry of the Interior (KDN).
Mohd Hizar Farhan said the checks were obtained from Chew following a passport supply shortage in 2016 after DTSB won the passport chip supply contract in 2015.
“Chew was called to meet with the defendant (Ahmad Zahid) on September 16, 2016 to explain the lack of supply of passports.
“A few months later, in mid-April 2017, Chew was summoned again to meet with the defendant at his official residence in Seri Satria, Putrajaya and at the meeting (late April 2017), Chew handed over two checks worth RM6mil to the defendant, “she said while reading her witness statement during the main questioning of Deputy Prosecutor Gan Peng Kun.
He said so at the trial of the former deputy prime minister, who faces corruption, abuse of power and money laundering charges involving millions of ringgit in funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
The 91st prosecution witness said that Ahmad Zahid, who was also interior minister at the time, had instructed the secretary general of the interior ministry to act on DGB’s request for the supply of chips.
The secretary general then directed the then secretary of the ministry’s procurement division, Datuk Abd Aziz Md Nor, to provide comments and opinions to the Ministry of Finance on the matter.
“Only after Abd Aziz received a letter from the Interior Minister’s office dated September 8, 2014, was priority given to the request for the supply of passport chips for five years, or 12.5 thousand chips for the polycarbonate biodata page of the Malaysian passport.
“After receiving a letter from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office dated October 20, 2015, Abd Aziz instructed the undersecretary general of the ministry’s procurement division to expedite the decision on price negotiations to the Procurement Board for let the acceptance letter be expedited according to the defendant’s instructions, “he said.
When questioned by Gan during the re-examination, the witness agreed that the contract awarded to DTSB to supply the passport chips was in accordance with proper standard operating procedures.
Gan: If the defendant had not agreed to the contract being delivered to DTSB, would the MOF have awarded it?
Mohd Hizar Farhan: No.
Ahmad Zahid, 68, faces 47 charges, 12 of them for breach of trust (CBT), eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
The trial before Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Friday (March 5). – Bernama
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