Kuala Lumpur: The High Court here was told today that in 2008, the Finance Ministry endorsed a proposal for Menteri Besar Terengganu Incorporated (MBTI) to retain complete control over the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA). Former Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar testified that this endorsement was accompanied by a federal government guarantee for the issuance of RM5 billion in Islamic Medium-Term Notes aimed at developing the state investment company.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 15th defense witness, Noh Omar, referred to the minutes of a Cabinet meeting dated December 12, 2008. During this meeting, Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented issues related to the TIA, which was initiated by the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin. The minutes revealed that the Finance Ministry had proposed for Terengganu to maintain control over the TIA.
However, in 2009, changes occurred when Najib Razak, who was then the Prime Minister, agreed with the Cabinet’s collective decision to have the federal government take over the TIA professionally, devoid of political interference. Noh’s statements emerged during an examination-in-chief conducted by lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing Najib in a trial concerning the alleged misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.
During Abdullah’s administration, Najib served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Noh, aged 67, asserted that Najib showed no personal interest or inclination towards the TIA takeover, citing a four-month delay by the Finance Ministry in preparing the necessary memorandum for the matter. “.since the first presentation on the TIA on December 12, 2008, it took four months for the Finance Ministry, under Najib’s leadership, to present this memorandum for the Cabinet’s attention,” Noh noted. He further explained that if Najib had any particular inclination, the Finance Ministry would not have delayed the presentation, as ministries typically act swiftly on Cabinet directives.
In previous testimony, Najib mentioned that the federal government’s takeover idea stemmed from a letter by then-TIA CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi. The letter, addressed to Najib and former Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop on May 25, 2009, highlighted internal conflicts within TIA’s management and MBTI. Shahrol Azral’s letter suggested rebranding TIA as 1MDB, modeled after Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala. TIA officially changed its name to 1MDB on September 25, 2009.
On October 30, 2024, Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib to present his defense after determining that the prosecution established a prima facie case against him. Najib, 71, faces four charges of using his position to secure bribes totaling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds, alongside 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount. The trial is set to continue tomorrow.