KCJ Engineering director Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff told the High Court he gave RM4.8 million to Bersatu after getting an RM62 million Jana Wibawa project.
KUALA LUMPUR: The director of KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd told the High Court today that he contributed RM4.8 million to Bersatu after his company was awarded the project to build a new road connecting Felda Bukit Jalor to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, through direct negotiations under the Jana Wibawa Programme worth RM62 million.
Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff, 54, said the payment was made according to the company’s calculation and ability to contribute approximately seven to eight per cent of the value of the project and based on his experience, profits in government road construction projects can reach a profit of approximately 15 per cent to 20 per cent.
“I confirm that I have made a contribution of RM4.8 million to Bersatu, of which RM4 million is from my own personal account while RM800,000 is from my company account, KCJ Engineering, because my company was awarded the project to build a new road connecting Felda Bukit Jalor to Gemas through direct negotiations under the Jana Wibawa Programme by the Malaysian Government during the administration of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Prime Minister and also Bersatu president.
“I prepared the four cheques (for the RM4 million contribution) and handed the cheques to the Bersatu treasurer, Datuk Salleh Baijuri either at his home or the Bersatu office.
“The financial source for me to make the payment to Bersatu is from my loan as the managing director of KCJ with my own company. This loan will be deducted from the company’s dividend payment to me at the end of the year,” he said.
The 27th prosecution witness said this while reading out his witness statement at the trial of Muhyiddin, who is facing seven charges of abuse of position and money laundering involving the Jana Wibawa project.
The businessman, who has 25 years of experience in the government project construction industry, said that although at that time his company had not received any payment from the government related to the Jana Wibawa project, he had advanced his own money because his company would receive advance payments and claims from the Public Works Department (JKR) after the company received a Letter of Acceptance (SST) for the project.
“For the payment of the RM800,000 contribution to Bersatu from the KCJ company account, I instructed the company accountant, Zuraida, to prepare four cheques and I personally handed the cheques to Datuk Salleh Baijuri.
“The financial source is the result of receiving payment of claims from the Public Works Department for the Project to Upgrade the Medical Gas Supply System, Central Air Conditioning System, Fire Prevention System, Electrical Wiring System and Related Works at the Main Building of Tuanku Jaafar Hospital, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, which I was appointed as a subcontractor by the main contractor company, Fastcool Corporation Sdn Bhd,” said Azman, who is the president of Bumiputera Contractors Association of Malaysia.
Regarding the RM4.8 million contribution, Azman said he made the contribution because he remembered Muhyiddin’s spontaneous notification to him when he asked about the direct negotiation project under Jana Wibawa, which Muhyiddin had previously informed him that if he wanted to make a contribution, it had to be made directly to Bersatu.
“I assume that the notification means that Tan Sri Muhyiddin expects there would be contributions from companies that get projects under Jana Wibawa to contribute to Bersatu because he first mentioned the contribution during the conversation.
“So, I as a businessman who wants to ask for support and assistance from him consider that the notification must be followed.
“I believe that if the company’s application letter is not supported by Tan Sri Muhyiddin and is not processed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), of course my company will not be successful through the evaluation process at the Ministry of Finance, and subsequently was successfully awarded this project through direct negotiations.
“When my company is supported by Tan Sri Muhyiddin, it is an advantage for me because I do not have to compete with other tenderers,” he said.
The witness said he met Muhyiddin around July 2020 while participating in the Tan Sri Muhyidin Charity Golf Tournament (TSMCG) at Tropicana Golf Club Damansara and asked Muhyiddin about government project procurement opportunities that members of the Bumiputera Contractors Association of Malaysia (PKBM) could apply for.
Azman said Muhyiddin had informed him that the government had approved the Jana Wibawa Programme to accelerate the country’s economic recovery and assist Bumiputera contractors who hold G7 licenses through direct negotiation appointments.
“Tan Sri Muhyiddin also informed me to obtain further information regarding the Jana Wibawa Programme from the PMO by meeting the responsible officer, namely Asmar Asmadi Abdullah Sani as Muhyiddin’s deputy private secretary.
“Tan Sri Muhyiddin spontaneously stated to me that if there are Bersatu members or contractors who want to make a donation, they can donate directly to Bersatu and not to any individual within Bersatu,” he said.
To a question from deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin whether the witness knew that the act of giving the donation was wrong, Azman replied, ‘I know that the act was wrong’.
“I am a businessman. At that time, the construction industry was paralysed, no projects were going ahead. Alhamdulillah with the help of Tan Sri (Muhyiddin), the industry has rebounded. That’s why I agreed and contributed to Bersatu,” said the witness.
According to Azman, he has never contributed to any other political party other than Bersatu, and thanked Muhyiddin for helping Bumiputera contractors get projects even though the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Muhyiddin, 79, who was the Prime Minister and Bersatu president at the time of the incident, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totaling RM225.3 million for the party from four companies, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd and KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd as well as Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff, in relation to the Jana Wibawa Project.
He is charged with committing the act at the Prime Minister’s Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and August 20, 2021 under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for a maximum sentence of imprisonment 20 years and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
The Pagoh MP also faces three counts of receiving proceeds from illegal activities totalling RM200 million from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu’s AmBank and CIMB Bank accounts in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
For the charge, he was charged under Section 4(1)(b) read with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which provides for a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of five times the value of the proceeds of illegal activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher, if convicted.
The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues tomorrow.
