In SRC International civil suit, former director says Najib was ‘chess grandmaster’ in company’s scheme of things
A former director of SRC International Sdn Bhd told the High Court today he saw Datuk Seri Najib Razak as a ‘chess grandmaster’ in the scheme of things that took place within the company.
Shahrol Azral, who was former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chief executive, testified that whenever SRC International or 1MDB were mandated to execute a project, there would be ‘larger chess pieces’ that ‘moved around’ to facilitate said projects.
Such a scheme of things, he said, would result in SRC International’s board of directors consenting to decisions made in favour of Najib’s instructions which were represented by former executive director, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.
“One clear example in the SRC case is [investing in] uranium was put into SRC’s mandate. Around 2010, there was already a plan to diversify our electricity sources.
“And sure enough, a separate company called Malaysian Nuclear Power Corporation (MNPC) was set up sometime in 2011 to kickstart the nuclear programme in Malaysia.
“That was transformed into the Nuclear Energy Plan Implementation Office (NEPIO) directly under the PM’s Department,” he said under cross examination by Najib’s counsel Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee.
Shahrol Azral said it was natural for him to make such a presumption that Najib had access to information the board was deprived of, explaining further that Nik Faisal had presented to the board Najib’s signature of approval on numerous occasions.
