Donation was applied by Najib, not offered by Saudi Arabia – Jamil Khir

by BERNAMA / pic by BERNAMA

The High Court was told today that the Malaysian Government, through Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, had actually applied for a donation from Saudi Arabia and that it was never an offer made by the Kingdom.

Former Minister of Islamic Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (picture) said he knew about the donation application, but stressed that the matter was never discussed in Cabinet meetings as it was not an administrative matter.

Jamil Khir, 59, however, agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk V.Sithambaram’s suggestion that the issue regarding the donation was kept from public knowledge.

Earlier, when reading his witness statement, Jamil Khir said he was made to understand that the donation would be channelled into Najib’s personal account to ease and smoothen his political journey.

“If I’m not mistaken, the late King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Saud did mention that he would send the donation soon and that it would be sent into Najib’s personal account.

“The King was worried that if the donation was sent into the account of any political entity, it would complicate the process,” Jamil Khir said, adding that he was behind Najib when the two leaders met in the palace in Riyadh on Jan 11, 2010.