KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 – The political secretary to the Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Megat Firdouz Megat Junid, today denied that there were several companies appointed to implement the ministry’s programmes for its minister, Khairy Jamaluddin’s political interests. He also refuted claims that the companies were to utilise allocations disbursed by the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) for the minister’s political objective.
Megat Firdouz, 48, who is the 47th prosecution witness, said this during cross-examination by lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, representing Otman Arsahd, 59, who is charged with 32 counts of power abuse and submitting false claims, involving RM38.4 million, six years ago. He disagreed with Muhammad Rafique’s suggestions that programmes implemented by the ministry were managed by suppliers with direct links with Khairy, who is Rembau Member of Parliament.
Muhammad Rafique: I put it to you that most of the suppliers who see you to get jobs linked with the programmes comprised of Umno members at various levels and some are known to YB Khairy?
Megat Firdouz: I do not agree.
Muhammad Rafique: I put it to you that one of the suppliers is Halmi Khalid, who is the owner of several companies and a Umno member?
Megat Firdouz: I do not agree.
The witness also said he had no knowledge and had never instructed Otman to give a briefing on the ministry’s procurement and tender which was held at Plaza Damas 3 in 2014.
Cross-examined by the prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor Norzilati Izhani Zainal@Zainol on a suggestion by Muhammad Rafique that there were various applications submitted by suppliers since Khairy’s appointment as the youth and Sports Minister, Megat Firdouz said the suppliers never came to see him.
“As YB Khairy’s political secretary, I have never sat on any committee, whether on supply or tender involving finance, that enabled the suppliers to supply anything which involved the ministry’s programmes,” he said. On April 21, 2016, Otman was charged with 64 counts of receiving unlawful proceeds amounting to RM16.623,000 in cheques which were deposited into his account at Maybank, RHB and CIMB Berhad between March 7, 2012, and Dec 11, 2015.
Besides Otman, a director of a sports company affiliated with the ministry, Abdul Gafar Abdurahiman, 44, and his wife, Siti Rohanah Hussien, 44, who is a housewife, were each charged with 63 counts of transferring RM15.723 million which was the revenue from unlawful activities from the bank accounts of their three companies to a bank account owned by Otman during the same period.
The three accused had allegedly committed the offence at different locations, including RHB Bank branch in Precinct 8, Putrajaya; Menara Maybank Jalan Tun Perak and Maybank branch Jalan Raja Laut. Otman, Abdul Gafar and Siti Rohanah are charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (AMLATFA) which carries a maximum fine of RM5 million or imprisonment up to five years, or both, if found guilty.
They were also charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities 2001 (AMLATFAPUAA) which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years and fine of not less than five times the sum of the unlawful activity’s proceeds, if convicted. The hearing before judge Azura Alwi continues on March 19. — Bernama
