Brother's company transferred money to Bersatu, witness testifies

KUALA LUMPUR: A director of Sutracom Sdn Bhd told the High Court that his brother's company, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, transferred funds to the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) party. The 15th prosecution witness, Shahrin Shamsuddin, 41, stated he became aware of this during family discussions while the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (SPRM) investigated the Jana Wibawa project. He did not know the exact amount of his brother's company's contribution.

Previously, the ninth prosecution witness, a bank manager, testified that Bersatu received RM19.5 million from Mamfor through 29 transactions between 2021 and late 2022. Shahrin also testified that Sutracom transferred RM13,772,000 through nine transactions to Mamfor's Bank Muamalat account to cover operational expenses and old debts for Sutracom, Mamfor, Majulia Sdn Bhd, and other family-owned companies. Sutracom, Mamfor, and Majulia are family-owned and managed by family members, including his mother.

"I am not sure of the breakdown of how much money Shahradzi (my brother) used to pay off the family companies' old debts, operational expenses, and contribute to Bersatu," he said. "I trusted him to manage the settlement of the companies' old debts and the operational expenses of my family's companies."

Responding to the deputy public prosecutor, the witness stated he never authorized the transfer of funds deposited into Mamfor to be "donated" to Bersatu. He also mentioned that he only learned Sutracom secured the project to build and upgrade the Pulau Indah Ring Road Phase 3 in Klang, Selangor, after receiving an email from the Ministry of Finance's Government Procurement Division. His brother, Sharizad, typically handled marketing for the family companies, including issuing letters of interest for government projects. Shahrin confirmed receiving a Letter of Acceptance for the project worth RM605,217,790.00, with a 36-month contract period.