KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): The Jana Wibawa programme, which was established to assist Bumiputera contractors impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, only took off following Cabinet approval in 2020, the court heard on Monday.

Testifying in the ongoing trial of former Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan's corruption and money-laundering trial, former Ministry of Finance (MOF) government procurement division deputy secretary Rosni Mohd Yusoff also agreed with the defence that the programme was proposed by the MOF to then prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The MOF's proposal was made in line with Muhyiddin's call to review Bumiputera-related policies to improve the group's competitiveness in a challenging business environment rattled by the global pandemic.

Defence counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad: [Per the letter] as I understand it, there was a suggestion from former finance minister [Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz] to the then PM on the proposal for the Jana Wibawa project. And the former PM had minuted that he would consider it.

Rosni: I agree.

The prosecution's third witness was shown a letter between Tengku Zafrul and Muhyiddin dated July 23, 2020, which included a brief note by Muhyiddin, who is the Bersatu president, saying that he would consider the suggestion. Amer said Muhyiddin's note was dated Aug 3, 2020. 

Following this, the witness agreed that the proposal for the programme was then brought to a Cabinet meeting, which later green-lit the proposal in November that year.  

Amer: The Cabinet considered the proposal and decided to go ahead with the suggestion on Nov 13, 2020.

Rosni: Agree.

Amer: Based on the series of events, the Jana Wibawa programme could only be implemented after Cabinet had approved it?

Rosni: Agree.

Per her previous testimony, Rosni also agreed that there were two ways that projects under the scheme could be awarded, which were via direct negotiation or a pre-qualified open tender. 

While on the stand in late March, Rosni had testified that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was the authority that selected the contractors and the projects to be implemented.

During cross-examination on Monday, the witness insisted that the PMO gave the MOF a list of company names, including a list of projects. However, she was quick to agree that there was a committee within the MOF, which had to evaluate a list of contractors who were indeed qualified for the programme. 

Amer: I suggest to you that the PMO's role was merely a conduit to relay the information of the companies to the MOF, so the committee and the procurement department [can evaluate and look into it further].

Rosni: Agree.

Monday's proceedings were cut short for Rosni to look for a few documents related to the terms of reference issued by the MOF and related checklists. The trial will resume on Tuesday with another witness.

In this trial, Wan Saiful, the Tasek Gelugor Member of Parliament, is charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 with soliciting bribes to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd secure a Central Spine Road project from the federal government through pre-qualification in April 2022.

On the second charge, he is charged under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act with receiving RM6.96 million through his company’s account from Nepturis, as an inducement to help Nepturis secure a letter of award for the same project.

The offences were allegedly committed between July 8 and Sept 30 in 2022.  

Both charges under the MACC Act are punishable under Section 24 of the Act, and carry a sentence of up to 20 years in jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

Wan Saiful also faces 18 charges of money laundering amounting to RM5.594 million. 

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