Kuala lumpur: A witness informed the Sessions Court today that Sayed Amir Muzzakkir Al Sayed Mohamad requested RM350,000 in cash as part of a five percent commission after assisting Nexuscorpgroup Sdn Bhd (NXG) in securing a Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) project tender.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, NXG Managing Director Wan Azhar Mohamed Yusof, 51, testified that the request came from the former political secretary to former Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin. This happened when Wan Azhar was present at NXG's former office in Shah Alam in early December 2020.
"Sayed (Sayed Amir Muzzakkir) contacted me and asked me, 'Can you pay 350k? I need to use this money, cash.' I informed Sayed that I could pay, but not in a lump sum. I also informed Sayed that I would pay in two installments and Sayed agreed to that proposal," said the key prosecution witness while reading his statement at the corruption trial of Sayed Amir Muzzakkir, who faces three charges involving RM350,000.
The 16th prosecution witness detailed that he instructed finance manager Chloe to prepare payment vouchers totaling RM100,000 and RM250,000 on December 4 and December 8, 2020, respectively. This action was to facilitate the partial payment of the five percent commission to Sayed Amir Muzzakkir in cash before Chloe issued cash cheques.
Wan Azhar recounted that after cashing the cheques, he informed Sayed Amir Muzzakkir about the money's readiness. Sayed Amir Muzzakkir then instructed him to deliver the money to the accused's office at Yayasan Tanah Aku in Publika. "I handed over the money amounting to RM100,000, which was in a paper bag, to Sayed around 4 pm on Dec 4, 2020, and the money amounting to RM250,000, also in a paper bag, was handed over at 3:30 pm on Dec 16, 2020. During the handovers, only Sayed and I were present," he said.
Earlier, Wan Azhar revealed that he first met Sayed Amir Muzzakkir in 2009 when Sayed Amir Muzzakkir served as Chief Executive Officer of Malsalink Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Dasar Jati Sdn Bhd (DJSB), while Wan Azhar was the General Manager at DJSB.
According to Wan Azhar, in April 2020, Sayed Amir Muzzakkir reached out to him upon learning that NXG had received an invitation from the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) to participate in the RMPNet project tender. Sayed Amir Muzzakkir inquired why Wan Azhar had not contacted him, noting that other contractors participating in the RMPNet tender had sought his assistance in securing the project.
Wan Azhar explained that Sayed Amir Muzzakkir offered to help NXG secure the RMPNet project and proposed introducing a friend to discuss further assistance.
On May 23, 2024, Sayed Amir Muzzakkir, 43, was charged with two counts of receiving bribes totaling RM350,000 from Wan Azhar Mohamed Yusof as an inducement to help Nexuscorpgroup obtain the RMPNet tender for PDRM, valued at RM381,112,042.44, at the Yayasan Tanah Aku office in Solaris Dutamas at 4 pm on Dec 4, 2020, and 3:30 pm on Dec 16, 2020.
Sayed Amir Muzzakkir also faced charges of soliciting a bribe of RM350,000 from the same individual for a similar purpose at the Nexuscorpgroup Sdn Bhd office in Shah Alam in early December 2020.
The charges were brought under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. Upon conviction, this carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The trial before Judge Rosli Ahmad is set to continue on September 22.