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‘Utter rubbish’, Rosmah says on ‘Can I advise you’ clip

She says no scientific investigation was conducted to prove that it was her voice.

Bernama
3 minute read
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Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak. Photo: Bernama
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak. Photo: Bernama

Rosmah Mansor told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that the contents of an audio recording containing the sentence “Can I advise you something?” were not true and that there was no scientific investigation to prove it was her voice.

Rosmah, 70, said this during cross-examination by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram in her defence trial on three charges relating to a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

Sri Ram: I put it to you the contents of the tape are true. Do you agree?

Rosmah: No, utter rubbish.

Rosmah also disagreed with Sri Ram’s suggestion that the voice in the tape belonged to her.

Sri Ram: You confirm the voices in that tape are the voices of you and your husband (Najib Razak)?

Rosmah: No, I cannot confirm that because there was no scientific investigation done on that.

Sri Ram: I also put it to you that during that conversation, you made references to the appointment of persons in public office.

Rosmah: I don’t agree.

Rosmah also disagreed with Sri Ram that she had distanced herself from the contents of the tape because the tape confirmed that she was giving advice to her husband on public appointments.

Sri Ram said several witnesses in the trial including former education minister Mahdzir Khalid and Rosmah’s former aide Rizal Mansor had testified in court that those were the voices of Rosmah and Najib.

However, Rosmah said: “And you’re supposed to believe them?”

At this point, Sri Ram raised his voice and said Rosmah should not be questioning him back.

Sri Ram: You can’t ask me a question. You want to quarrel with me?

Rosmah replied, “I’m not quarrelling with you. I want to answer.”

At this juncture, judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan suggested that Rosmah listen to the prosecution’s question and keep her answers short as her counsel would re-examine her later.

Rosmah then said: “Datuk Seri (Sri Ram), don’t shout near me. I’m not used to people shouting near me.”

Earlier, Zaini dismissed the prosecution’s application to impeach Rosmah over her allegedly contradictory testimony in her trial after ruling that impeachment was not necessary as Rosmah had offered an explanation.

The prosecution’s attempt to impeach Rosmah’s credibility was over alleged contradictions in her testimony in the solar project trial and the statement she gave to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in her money laundering case.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said when Rosmah gave her statement to the MACC on Oct 3, 2018 relating to her money laundering case, she said she did not know and had never met Saidi Abang Samsudin, the former managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, or Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, Saidi’s former business partner.

Akram argued that during previous proceedings in the solar trial, Rosmah testified that she did not know Saidi and Rayyan, who were key prosecution witnesses, prior to her first meeting with them in 2016.

On Feb 18, the High Court ordered Rosmah to enter her defence on the three charges after finding the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against her.

Rosmah faces a charge of soliciting RM187.5 million in bribes and two charges of receiving RM6.5 million from Saidi through Rizal as a gratification to assist Jepak Holdings in securing the integrated hybrid solar photovoltaic system project as well as the genset/diesel maintenance and operation for 369 rural schools in Sarawak worth RM1.25 billion through direct negotiations from the education ministry.

The trial continues tomorrow.