KJ’s division also received money from UKSB, says witness in Zahid trial
(FMT) – A former director of Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) told the High Court here today his company had also given money to Khairy Jamaluddin’s Umno division.
Wan Quoris Shah Wan Abdul Ghani said contributions of between RM50,000 and RM200,000 were made to the Rembau Umno division but not given directly or personally to Khairy, the then youth and sports minister.
Khairy, who is still the Rembau division deputy chief, is now the health minister.
Testifying in the corruption trial of former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Wan Quoris said the contributions were not given on a monthly basis, and that he decided on the payments.
“Contributions were also made during by-elections, for disaster relief and humanitarian programmes as he is a national leader,” he said when examined by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shahruddin Wan Ladin.
Wan Quoris, an Umno member, said the money was given to the division because Khairy was also the Umno Youth chief at the time.
At an earlier hearing, the court was told that “KJ” and “bomoh” were among the words found in a ledger owned by UKSB that was submitted as evidence in the trial.
Former UKSB director Harry Lee Vui Khun had said this during cross-examination by Zahid’s lawyer, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, when the ledger was referred to him.
The ledger contained details of payments made by the company to several people between 2014 and 2018.
Asked if he could confirm that the initials “KJ” referred to Khairy, Lee had replied: “That, I am not sure.”
He said Wan Quoris “apparently knows KJ very well”.
Today, Wan Quoris, the 16th prosecution witness, told the court Zahid received money from UKSB as a political donation for, among others, “to help some of the 191 Umno divisions”.
“We gave the money after he helped us between 2014 and 2018,” he said, adding that Zahid was then the home minister and Umno deputy president.
He said UKSB would not have given money to Zahid if his ministry had not helped to extend its contract.
“I cannot remember how many times I met Zahid but I had given him S$300,000,” he said.
Zahid, 69, is facing 33 charges of receiving bribes amounting to S$13.56 million (RM42 million) from UKSB as an inducement for himself in his capacity as a civil servant and the then home minister to extend the contract of the company as the operator of the One-Stop Centre (OSC) in China and the VLN system, as well as to maintain the agreement to supply VLN integrated system paraphernalia to the same company by the ministry.
On another seven counts, he is charged as the home minister to have obtained for himself S$1,150,000, RM3 million, €15,000 and US$15,000 in cash from the same company in connection with his official work.
He is charged with committing all the offences at Seri Satria in Presint 16, Putrajaya, and Country Heights, Kajang, between October 2014 and March 2018.
The trial before judge Yazid Mustafa continues.
