By Justin Cheng | The Edge Malaysia
KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd finance manager Zuriedah Deres told the High Court on Thursday that the company’s managing director, Datuk Azman Yusoff, had instructed her to prepare RM800,000 in cheques as a contribution to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
She said Azman had met her at the company’s office in Shah Alam, Selangor, on Sept 1, 2022, to issue the directive. She said that while she was informed that the RM800,000 sum was related to the Jana Wibawa project that had been awarded to the firm, she was not given further details about the project itself.
Zuriedah was testifying as the prosecution witness in the graft trial of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who faces charges involving alleged abuse of power, receiving gratification, and money laundering. He is accused of receiving bribes from Azman and several companies, allegedly for the benefit of Bersatu.
The witness confirmed that throughout her tenure at the company since late-2019, this was the only time where she had received such instructions to prepare political contributions for a political party.
She added that the company regularly issued contributions via cheques to various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), mosques, and schools, which did not raise suspicions at the time.
Four separate cheques prepared owing to signing limits
Zuriedah explained that she had prepared four separate Maybank Islamic cheques valued at RM200,000 each. The sum was split because the company directors available to sign that day, Mohd Zaid Yusoff and Zulhelmi Mairin, were only authorised to sign amounts capped at RM200,000 per cheque.
She noted that any amount exceeding RM200,000 required the signature of another individual, Tengku Sarah, who was out of town at the material time.
After preparing the printed cheques made to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Zuriedah presented them to Mohd Zaid and Zulhelmi. She explained the purpose of the funds based on Azman’s instructions, and both directors signed the documents.
Zuriedah testified that she handed all four signed cheques back to Azman on the same day for further action. She stated that she had no direct dealings with anyone from Bersatu and did not know who ultimately cashed the cheques, saying that those details would need to be verified by the political party itself.
Witness unable to verify Azman’s claims on funds or political ties
During cross-examination, the defence established that Muhyiddin was no longer the prime minister by the time the cheques were signed on Sept 1, 2022, pointing instead to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob holding the office at that time. Zuriedah agreed that Muhyiddin was no longer the prime minister then, though she said she could not recall the exact leadership timeline during the event.
When questioned about her communications, Zuriedah stated that she had never received any calls or direct instructions from Muhyiddin, nor had there been any direct communication between KCJ Engineering and the former prime minister.
She also added that she did not verify the contribution with Bersatu’s supreme council, confirming that her testimony regarding the purpose of the RM800,000 was based entirely on the information given to her by Azman.
During re-examination, the prosecution countered the defence’s suggestion that the witness’ testimony was pure assumption, asking Zuriedah to confirm if physical documentation supported her written statement. Zuriedah verified that the actual cheques served as supporting evidence for her testimony.
The prosecution also put it to the witness that despite the change in the prime minister’s position by September 2022, Muhyiddin remained the president of Bersatu at the time, to which Zuriedah replied she was not certain.
Unclear transaction history with Nepturis
The cross-examination veered into KCJ Engineering’s wider financial transactions, including a bank statement from February 2022 showing a RM300,000 interbank transaction from Nepturis Sdn Bhd, another Jana Wibawa project recipient.
When asked by defence counsel Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad regarding what the RM300,000 transaction entailed, Zuriedah said she was aware of it but could not recall the specifics.
Amer Hamzah: You are supposed to monitor and manage the fund movements of KCJ. But you suddenly can’t remember this part?
Zuriedah: If you look at our bank statement, there are dozens of pages and many transactions. I cannot remember every single transaction.
Zuriedah added that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had focused their investigation exclusively on the four Bersatu cheques and did not ask her about the Nepturis transaction.
When asked about the relationship between KCJ Engineering and Nepturis, Zuriedah said she was unsure.
Cash contributions lack clear records
While Zuriedah’s testified that the Bersatu cheques were the only political contributions she was instructed to handle, she admitted under cross-examination that the company and its directors did make other contributions via online banking and cash.
She acknowledged that while cash donations to schools and NGOs occurred, they lacked explicit recipient details in company records.
Consequently, she could not rule out the possibility that Azman or KCJ Engineering had made cash contributions to other political parties.
When asked by the defence counsel whether the use of cheques made the Bersatu donation more transparent and auditable compared to cash, Zuriedah agreed.
However, the High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin interjected to clarify the witness’ opinion on whether the transaction was “transparent”, stating that it remains a matter for the court to decide.
Zuriedah later explained that while transactions with proper records make auditing easier for income tax purposes, cash donations without documented particulars do not qualify for tax relief.
In this trial, Muhyiddin, whose full name is Mahiaddin Md Yasin, 79, is facing seven charges — four counts of abuse of power involving RM225.3 million in alleged gratification and three counts of money laundering involving RM200 million. He is accused of receiving bribes from businessman Datuk Azman Yusoff, 51, and three companies — including Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd — allegedly for the benefit of his political party, Bersatu.
The trial before judge Noor Ruwena continues on Friday.
Edited by Aniza Damis
