Yesterday, Azian, who headed KWAP from March 2007 to March 2013, said a loan approval by KWAP to SRC may not have followed regulations.
Question is, why did Azian not take the initiative to inform Najib when she met him that SRC needed to put in a direct application and hand in the required documents?
Is Azian even aware that a ‘note’ of approval that allegedly appeared on a letter by SRC to Najib did not constitute as part of the original letter and that such a note, assuming authentic, should never have had a bearing on any decision made by KWAP with regards to SRC’s eligibility for the loan?
SUBANG JAYA: There is something peculiarly telling about the claim made by a former Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) CEO, Dato’ Azian Mohd Noh.
Yesterday, Azian, who headed the civil servants’ pension fund from March 2007 to March 2013, said she received a letter in 2011 from the late Dato’ Azlin Alias, then a special officer for former premier Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Azian claimed Azlin had hand delivered the letter to her and pointed to a note of approval on the letter which she claimed was handwritten by Najib.
The letter was signed off by SRC International director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and was addressed to Najib, then the Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
Azian, the 38th prosecution witness in Najib’s trial over charges of abuse of position and criminal breach of trust in relation to SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds, said the letter pertained a RM3.95 billion loan from KWAP that SRC was seeking for purposes of working capital and general investment.
“I was informed by the late Datuk Azlin Alias that the prime minister at that time, namely Datuk Seri Najib has agreed with the proposed application from SRC and I was referred to the note on the letter which Datuk Azlin Alias informed had been made by Datuk Seri Najib himself,” Azian said.
“On the letter dated June 3, 2011, there was a handwritten note and the signature of prime minister Datuk Seri Najib that was addressed to me as KWAP CEO and stating ‘Agree with this proposal’ and dated June 5, 2011.
“According to my understanding, the note ‘Agree with this proposal’ meant the prime minister agreed for KWAP to give the loan to SRC,” she added.
Asian claimed she had later met Najib at the Prime Minister’s Office to inform him that KWAP’s fixed income department had prepared a proposal for a RM1 billion loan instead of the RM3.95 billion sought by SRC.
Question is, why did Azian not take the initiative to inform Najib that SRC needed to put in a direct application and hand in a complete set of documents?
Is Azian even aware that the ‘note’ of approval Najib allegedly wrote did not constitute as part of the original letter and should never have had a bearing on any decision made by KWAP with regards to SRC’s eligibility for the loan?
During examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Dato’ Ishak Mohd Yusoff, Azian agreed that SRC should have made the application to KWAP and not through Najib.
Can we take this to mean that KWAP did hinge its decision on scribblings by Najib that clearly was meant to inform Azian of the Prime Minister’s backing and not to put pressure on KWAP?
These are lingering questions that need to be answered.
THE THIRD FORCE
