In a lengthy Facebook post telling his side of the story, former prime minister Najib Tun Razak shared a detailed account of how he received USD$100 million (approx. RM415 million) in donations from the late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. He added photos of bank documents detailing the donations, which were given to him in 2011.
Check out his post below:
https://www.facebook.com/najibrazak/posts/10155580409135952?__xts__[0]=68.ARBpsTeSQi1LuNq_U6bX-iOTTe-_8tYgzuoZQv7XIHdZHTXmAaY3L6YeWZpCwsL_gMc0_zFftHL6AGX7ph3BTeyTdK6byCYt8ZrKiZDTFpbvYaKEmS2RoipDhwEDAVSAxB-23vKURArV0332lk8V1bhlT3nxzszylCPEk_7EIS5Ax-RMy9qwNVE&__tn__=-R
One piece of evidence he added in the Facebook post is a letter he received from the Saudi King’s office dated 1st February 2011. An excerpt of the letter reads,
“In view of the friendship we have developed over the years and your new ideas as a modern Islamic leader, I hereby grant you a sum of United States Dollars One Hundred Million (“Gift”), which shall be remitted to you at such times and in such manner as I deem fit.”
“You shall have absolute discretion to determine how the Gift shall be utilised and I am confident that your actions will continue to promote Islam so it continues to flourish.”
Source: NST
An excerpt from the Pekan MP’s post detailing the reasoning behind the donation reads,
“The donation was given shortly after the Arab Spring began in 2010. Almarhum Raja Abdullah was very concerned at the time and decided to finance leaders and governments of Islamic countries to help maintain their stability.”
“He was also concerned after learning that there could be a ‘Malaysia Spring’ happening at that time, since Malaysia is also an Islamic country although it is not located in the Middle East or Africa.”
“Because of this concern and our close relationship, Almarhum Raja Abdullah promised to provide funds for me and the party.”
“I was also informed that the promised amount that was going to be transferred over the next few years was actually less than what Saudi Arabia’s neighbouring countries badly affected by the Arab Spring were receiving.”
Source: The Straits Times
“My lawyer has taken some time to retrieve these documents from the bank, but we have successfully obtained a large portion of these documents. The retrieved documents (in this post) details donations received in 2011.”
Like the Kiswah and additional haj quota donated in 2010, Najib clarified that this donation was also not publicised, but it did bear witnesses.
“SWIFT money transfer documents for the year 2011 showed that USD$20 million (approx. RM83 million) was transferred from Faisal bin Turki bin Al Saud’s account while USD$80 million (approx. RM332 million) was transferred from the account of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance to me.”
“A large portion of the donation I received was used for Barisan Nasional (BN). For example, I gave this donation to UMNO Johor to buy a number of vans. However, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has already seized these vehicles.”
He added that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was disappointed when Saudi Arabia refused to comment on whether the donation of RM2.6 billion to Najib’s personal accounts was from their officers. He also brought up the fact that the PH government closed the Saudi-backed King Salman Centre for International Peace one month later.
Source: Utusan Online
Ending his post, Najib wrote,
“In future Facebook statuses or via media interviews where I can explain in further detail and show proof, I will also explain the donation I received over the years since 2011 – including the issue involving the RM2.6 billion.”
Following the events of GE14, the former prime minister was questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as the anti-graft agency continues to investigate the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, in which Najib was accused of channelling over RM2.6 billion from the company into his personal bank accounts.
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Also read: Singapore to Return First Batch of 1MDB-Linked Funds Worth RM46 Million to M’sian Govt
