Najib: I never approved Jho Low as my 1MDB orchestrator; ‘lying’ 1MDB officers conveniently blamed me

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said he had never consented to having Low Taek Jho — a Malaysian fugitive better known as Jho Low — act as an “orchestrator” on his behalf at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and was not aware of Low playing such a role.

Najib accused former 1MDB officers — who had testified in the High Court in the 1MDB trial against him — of “lying” and conveniently placing the “entire blame” for 1MDB’s financial scandal on him.

“It is convenient for Shahrol, Amhari, Hazem, Azmi, and Jasmine to place blame on me, as this narrative shields them from accountability for the criminal activities they knowingly, consciously, and deliberately executed on Jho Low’s behalf,” Najib claimed when testifying as the first defence witness in the 1MDB trial.

Najib was referring to 1MDB’s former CEOs Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman, 1MDB’s then in-house lawyer Jasmine Loo, 1MDB’s then chief financial officer Azmi Tahir, and Najib’s then own special officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin.

Najib claimed that these former officials have no evidence to show an alleged top-down approach in 1MDB, and instead claimed that evidence in the 1MDB trial showed their alleged knowing participation in Low’s conspiracy to defraud 1MDB.

“In the face of that, what can these lying individuals do to defend themselves but to come out with a unified claim of top down approach and that Jho Low somehow they thought represented me,” he said.

Disputing Shahrol’s court testimony, Najib said he had never given his blessings or approval for the talking points — that Low provided to 1MDB officers — containing instructions for major 1MDB deals and transactions.

“If these talking points had truly carried my blessing, then why would Datuk Shahrol go to such lengths to destroy them? By his admission, he received over 100 of these talking points, yet he deliberately chose to destroy them.

”This act supports that the talking points didn’t have my blessing and were not to protect me.

“If he genuinely believed these talking points had my endorsement, he would have preserved them to support his defence that he was simply following instructions with my supposed approval,” Najib said.

Najib said he had never seen any of these talking points and was surprised these might have been used to impress 1MDB board members that he had given his blessing for these talking points.

Among other things, Najib denied communicating with Low on 1MDB matters, also saying he did not know any instructions given or actions taken by Low on his behalf for 1MDB.

“Any claims that Jho Low acted with my ‘approval’ or ‘blessing’ are baseless.

“I did not authorise Jho Low to draft or deliver any talking points or action plans to Shahrol, Jasmine, Hazem, Azmi or any other members of the management or the 1MDB BOD or to any of my officers, Amhari, Datuk Azlin or Wan Shihab nor did I direct Jho Low to carry out decisions or provide instructions to 1MDB management, the 1MDB BOD, my officers, Amhari, Datuk Azlin or Wan Shihab,” he said.

Najib was referring to his former principal private secretary Datuk Azlin Alias and his former special officer Datuk Wan Ahmad Shihab Wan Ismail.

Najib said he was unaware of an alleged “work in silo” work culture in 1MDB, claiming that former 1MDB officers were using this as an excuse for their unauthorised actions on 1MDB matters.

“Any decisions made or actions taken by them on Jho Low’s instructions were done independently of me, and any suggestion otherwise is a misrepresentation of the true state of affairs,” he claimed.

Najib’s 1MDB trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow morning.