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Najib said his conversation with Low took place in mid-2010, several months after the former prime minister received the King Abdulaziz Order of Merit award from the late King Abdullah.
He said King Abdullah had during a private audience with the Malaysian delegation immediately after the award ceremony “assured me that he would provide me with support to lead a moderate Muslim country”.
“At the time I understood that the donation was intended for political purposes and CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities,” he said.
The Malaysian delegation included Malaysia’s then ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Syed Omar Al-Saggaf, former religious minister Jamil Khir, and then foreign minister Anifah Aman.
Najib also told the court that he had opened an account with AmBank to receive the incoming donation that same year.
“I did not doubt Jho Low’s representation (about the incoming donation) because he was close with King Abdullah,” he said.
‘Ex-bank MD knew of intention to open account’
Najib said then AmBank managing director Cheah Tek Kuang came to his house sometime in 2011 to facilitate the account opening process.
“Mr Cheah introduced himself and said he had brought the relevant forms for me to execute.
“In our conversation, I informed him that I was expecting to receive the Saudi donation, and asked him to notify BNM (Bank Negara Malaysia).
“I took this step because I wanted to ensure full transparency on my account,” he added.
Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
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