Former Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) CEO Ung Su Ling has denied managing the transfer of RM42 million into Najib Razak‘s personal AmBank accounts.
Ung told the High Court here today her role was merely to relay instructions from Najib’s principal private secretary at the time, Azlin Alias, to Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd CEO Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman.
She said the instructions from Azlin that she passed on to Shamsul were to transfer funds into two AmBank accounts, with numbers ending 880 and 906, between late 2014 and early 2015.
The transfers were carried out in three tranches – RM27 million, RM5 million and RM10 million.
Ung previously said she had no knowledge that the money had come from SRC International or that the accounts belonged to the former prime minister.
Najib’s counsel, Farhan Shafee, however, challenged her account, pointing out that her email exchanges with former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu indicated that she was more involved than she had claimed.
Farhan: You would agree at this point in time you were not merely relaying a request to Shamsul but also managing the entire transaction?
Ung: I don’t agree. I had asked for this money to be transferred to the (AmBank) account, but you don’t shirk responsibility after that, you need to make sure everything is completed. It’s a straightforward thing.
Pressed further on why she never enquired about the details of the transfers, especially the recipient’s identity, Ung said Azlin had told her the money was meant for CSR purposes.
She said she had no reason to doubt Azlin’s explanation.
“(Since) it came from Azlin, I felt the cheques and accounts were somehow connected to the prime minister at the time. I didn’t know it was his (Najib’s) personal account.
“If a cheque connected to the highest office was dishonoured, it would be extremely embarrassing,” she said.
Ung was testifying as the plaintiffs’ first witness in a civil suit brought by SRC International and Gandingan Mentari to recover RM42 million allegedly misappropriated from the parent company’s accounts.
In August 2022, Najib was convicted of seven charges involving abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust related to SRC International funds in the sum of RM42 million.
He was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine, which was later reduced to six years and RM50 million following a decision by the Federal Territories Pardons Board.
The hearing before Justice Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan will continue on Oct 13.
