Najib’s approval not instruction to KWAP
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) chief executive officer (CEO) Azian Mohd Noh testified that former premier Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s handwritten note on SRC International’s loan application, which expressed his approval for KWAP to invest in the 1MDB subsidiary, was not an instruction for the fund to do so.
The application was regarding SRC International’s bid for an RM3.95 billion loan in 2011, she told defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh.
Azian: The way I see it, the finance minister agrees with KWAP investing RM3.95 billion in SRC International as per the letter (loan application by SRC International).
Harvinderjit: Does this mean he (Najib) instructed KWAP to give the loan?
Azian: It means he agreed.
Harvinderjit then asked Azian if the KWAP investment panel had the power to approve loans without being bound by the Prime Minister’s Office or prime minister.
She replied, “That is what is mentioned in the Act”.
The Retirement Fund Act 2007 governs the functions and powers of KWAP.
Harvinderjit: Your instruction to Norhisyam (a staff in KWAP’s fixed income department) was not to approve it, but to leave it to his discretion?
Azian: Yes.
Harvinderjit: At no time were you, Norhisyam, or the fixed income department compelled to approve it, you did not take it as an instruction?
Azian: I definitely did not take it as an instruction.
Previous testimony revealed that SRC International’s two-page application letter for an RM3.95 billion loan from KWAP contained Najib’s annotation that supported an approval in favor of SRC.
The application letter was forwarded to the fund in 2011 when Azian was KWAP CEO.
