KUALA LUMPUR: Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi advised the High Court that Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB) spent some RM109mil on charity, refuting claims by the prosecution that the basis didn’t fork out a single sen for the poor.
The Bagan Datuk MP stated it was “a partial” sum of what was really given out as a result of some contributions weren’t listed.
“This is based on my principle of ‘tangan kanan memberi, tangan kiri tak perlu tahu’ (do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing).
“I hereby state that the (prosecution’s) statement claiming not a single sen was given by YAB to the poor is untrue,” he stated right here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid stated this when he was requested by his lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal to “make a rebuttal” on the prosecution’s declare that Ahmad Zahid had by no means spent a single sen for charity.
He referred Ahmad Zahid to 2 displays – tagged as D5 and D6 – that listed YAB charity works amounting to RM55mil and RM54mil, respectively.
The charity works included contributions for upgrades for surau, mosques and a bridge; building of an orphanage in Rawang; supplying air-conditioners and carpets for surau and mosques; financial aid for glorious faculty college students; tickets, lodge and meals bills for the police, safety personnel and volunteers throughout the MH17 catastrophe; and the building of mosques in Yunnan (China), Capetown (South Africa), Perth (Australia) and Narathiwat and Pattani (Thailand).
In a gap assertion on Nov 18, 2019, deputy public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran had stated that the prosecution would show Ahmad Zahid didn’t use a single sen from RM31mil of YAB’s funds to assist the poor and the needy, however had as a substitute used the cash on himself, together with paying off bank cards.
In yesterday’s proceedings, Ahmad Zahid stated he wished justice for himself as a result of the contributions he made had been with good intentions and in the identify of Allah.
The courtroom additionally heard that YAB appointed Idris Kechek as firm secretary on March 18, 1997, and he resigned on July 23, 2007.
Ahmad Zahid stated for so long as Idris labored for him, he (Idris) had by no means up to date or despatched YAB’s accounting report back to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).
He stated he solely discovered about this in 2012 after a change in the board of trustees.
As a consequence, Idris was changed with one Mahinder Kaur as the firm secretary in the identical 12 months.
“However, only in court did I find out she had prepared the company documents, but did not send it to SSM,” he added.
Ahmad Zahid is dealing with 47 expenses – 12 for felony breach of belief (CBT), eight for corruption and 27 for cash laundering – involving tens of tens of millions of ringgit belonging to YAB.
The listening to continues earlier than Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on May 23.