"I never asked anyone to use those funds for my personal gain" - Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the High Court today that he has never given instructions to anyone to use the funds from Yayasan Akalbudi for his personal gain.

The former deputy prime minister said this as he began his defence against 47 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption and money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to the charity foundation.

Zahid, 69, said in fact, a huge chunk of his income had been used for charity, welfare and religious activities in the foundation.

On April 10, 2009, he was appointed as the Defence Minister while on May 16, 2013, he became the Home Minister before he was appointed as the deputy prime minister on July 29, 2015.

Reading out his witness statement, Zahid said Yayasan Akalbudi was his brainchild and that he had mooted the idea during his time in the corporate world where he served as chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional and the chief executive officer of Kretam Holding Bhd, Tekala Corporation Bhd, Ramatex Bhd and Seng Hup Bhd.

“At that time, my monthly income was around RM120,000 and I only used about RM30,000 to RM 40,000, while the rest was given to charity.

“During the early stages of the foundation’s establishment, a huge sum of the funds in the foundation were from my salary and savings.

“When it became known to people in 2013, it began to receive donations from colleagues such as General Tan Sri Mohamed Hashim Ali, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, Tan Sri Halim Saad and Tan Sri Ahmad Johan,” he said.

On Jan 24, the Umno president was ordered to enter his defence on all 47 counts, 12 of which were for CBT, eight for corruption and 27 charges of money laundering.

This was after judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case on all the charges against the accused.