I had enough to settle credit card bills without using charity funds, Zahid says

Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that the monthly balance in his personal bank account was sufficient to settle his credit card bills without him needing to use funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.

Ahmad, 69, said it was his former executive secretary Major Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly who had negligently used cheques from the foundation to pay for his personal credit card expenditures.

“The balance in my personal bank account every month was more than sufficient to pay for my personal credit cards,” he said.

He was replying to a question from his lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh in his defence against 47 charges – 12 of criminal breach of trust, eight of corruption and 27 of money laundering – involving millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi.

When asked by Hamidi why Mazlina had used the foundation’s cheques to settle the credit card bills, Zahid said Mazlina was careless and had made a mistake by paying with Yayasan Akalbudi cheques.

“Mazlina in her testimony in court earlier also admitted to being negligent in that she did not know, was unsure of and could not remember matters regarding the management of credit card bills,” he added.

Earlier, Zahid was referred to the balance in his Maybank account between 2014 and 2016 which had a minimum of RM100,000 and a maximum of RM600,000, while his credit card bills ranged from RM600 to RM215,000 during the same period.

At an earlier hearing, Zahid told the court that Mazlina, who was entrusted with managing his personal accounts and that of Yayasan Akalbudi, had committed various acts of negligence, including failing to understand and read his credit card statements, causing insufficient and excessive payments to be made.

For the 12 charges of criminal breach of trust, Zahid is alleged to have used Yayasan Akalbudi funds to make six payments for his credit cards, insurance policies and licences for his private vehicles, transfer money to a legal firm and make contributions to the Royal Malaysia Police Football Association.

The Bagan Datuk MP allegedly committed the offences at Affin Bank, Jalan Bunus Branch, off Jalan Masjid India, between Jan 13, 2014 and Dec 23, 2016.

He was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of between two and 20 years, whipping and fine, upon conviction.

The hearing before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.