I have to pay for other people’s negligence, Zahid tells court on ex-aide

Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the High Court yesterday that his former executive secretary Major Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly had committed negligence in handling his personal expenses as well as the finances of Yayasan Akalbudi.

Zahid, 69, said this included failing to understand and read his credit card statements which had caused her to make either insufficient or excessive payments.

“The mistakes that Mazlina made included making credit card payments amounting to RM71,283 instead of RM65,153.32. Besides that, she (Mazlina) also underpaid the credit card bill, paying only RM2,600 when she should have paid RM64,668.24,” he said, reading his witness statement on the third day of his defence proceedings on 47 charges of breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.

He said Mazlina had testified in court that she had no knowledge of, was unsure of and could not remember matters regarding the management of his credit card bills, in addition to admitting to being negligent in handling the expenses.

“As a trained and experienced banker, if I knew Mazlina was behaving in this way I would not have given her permission and would have stopped her actions immediately,” he said.

When asked by his lawyer, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, what could have caused Mazlina to make the extra payment, Zahid said: “This is what I do not understand, why pay more and sometimes pay less, it means she was negligent… I have to pay for other people’s negligence. Where is the justice?”

He added that Mazlina had never shown him the monthly credit card statements although he had asked her to do so.

“She (Mazlina) said she would give me the credit card statements, that she would come to my office.

“I waited but she didn’t come. She pretended to forget about it, every time I asked about this, she would give me so many excuses.”

Zahid also said Mazlina had used Yayasan Akalbudi cheques to pay for his credit card bills without his instruction, knowledge or agreement.

“Mazlina used my signature stamp on the Yayasan Akalbudi cheques that were used to pay for personal credit card bills as well as my wife’s (Hamidah Khamis) without my knowledge… the stamp should have been used on certificates of appreciation and festive season greeting cards.

“I never ordered Mazlina to use the Yayasan Akalbudi cheques that I had pre-signed for purposes other than charity and I had never allowed Mazlina to use signature stamps or pre-signed cheques for credit card payment purposes or to pay for my vehicle insurance policy,” he said.

Zahid also denied any knowledge that Mazlina had used such cheques from 2013 until 2016, adding that if he had known about the matter, he would have immediately fired her for misusing the foundation’s cheques.

“Due to Mazlina’s failures, I had to appoint Messrs Lewis & Co as trustee to the Yayasan Akalbudi funds,” he said.

When asked by Zaidi why he did not take any action against Mazlina even though she had committed several offences, Zahid said: “I am a professional… I treat the officers serving under the agencies and departments that I lead professionally. I have never demoted any officer. Instead, I give advice and guidance as well as promote them so that the officer is no longer working in the office or ministry that I lead.

“… as a professional, I felt that I should advise and guide (those who have made mistakes). I would change tactics where I would advise them because they are an asset to the department, agency or ministry that I lead. That way, I don’t oppress and ill-treat or belittle them or destroy their career,” he said.

Zahid is on trial for 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering charges involving Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

On Jan 24, the court ordered him to enter his defence against all of the charges after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.

The trial before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues today.