NAJIB DENIES ‘COLD STORAGE’ BID ON THEN FINANCE MINISTER II HUSNI HANADZLAH, WANTED ‘TOUGHER NUT’ JOHARI GHANI TO SOLVE 1MDB’S DEBTS

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 23 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today denied he had wanted to put then finance minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah into “cold storage” in 2016, saying that he wanted to let Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani take on that ministerial post instead to help crack 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) debt problems.

Najib said this while testifying in his own defence in his 1MDB trial, where over RM2 billion of 1MDB’s funds allegedly entered his personal AmIslamic bank accounts.

Najib today said he had chosen Husni to be finance minister II as the latter had some banking experience and had been deputy finance minister for some time, adding that Husni was finance minister II for around seven to eight years.

“It’s quite a long time to be in a single portfolio. I didn’t want people to think it’s an entitlement to be in the same ministry all the time,” he said.

Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then asked: “It wasn’t putting him into cold storage, was it?”

Najib: “No, I wanted him to play a big part in another portfolio.”

Earlier, Shafee asked Najib about the prosecution’s suggestion that he had ignored Husni on several occasions on issues on 1MDB including its unsustainable debts, and that Husni eventually resigned.

Shafee noted that Najib had instead said Husni was not happy about his plans to transfer him to another ministry.

Najib then said he had decided to transfer Husni as he wanted to replace him with Johari.

“And I know for a fact that Johari Ghani, being a very experienced corporate figure, has been involved in restructuring of companies, has been involved in reviving companies, and has extensive corporate experience in this regard, more than Husni.

“Bearing in mind the problems of 1MDB, I saw it as a logical choice because of his experience, expertise. He could play a big part in the rationalisation of 1MDB, and that was utmost in my mind, so that we could resolve quickly the debt problem of 1MDB,” he said.

Najib said what was required was somebody with extensive experience of “turning around” companies like Johari, contrasting this with ex-investment banker Husni whom he said did not have that kind of experience.

Asked by Shafee if Johari was “easier to push over” than Husni, Najib laughed before saying: “If you knew the two characters, I would say Johari Ghani is a tougher nut”.

Najib agreed Johari would be a tougher nut to crack.

Najib noted that Johari is currently the head of the government’s 1MDB Asset Recovery Taskforce, apart from being minister of plantation and commodities.

Agreeing that Johari was still involved in 1MDB’s debt recovery, Najib said this proves his point that Johari has the expertise and that it is recognised by the current government.

On June 27, 2016, Johari who was then the deputy finance minister was appointed to be finance minister II, replacing Husni for that role.

Previously, Husni told the 1MDB trial that Najib had in early 2015 asked him to help solve 1MDB’s problem of excessively high debt levels, and that he had found that the company owed RM48.571 billion in debts as of May 20, 2015.

Husni and his aide had prepared the 1MDB rationalisation plan to solve the debt problem — to either liquidate all assets to get a RM3.3 billion profit or to reduce the debt to RM5.3 billion.

As Najib wanted to transfer him to other ministries, Husni said he had voluntarily resigned on June 27, 2016 as he had wanted to stay on as finance minister II to continue managing the 1MDB rationalisation plan.

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

2025-01-23T09:43:50Z