Kota Kinabalu: Former Water Department Director Ag Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib told the Special Corruption Court that his former deputy director Teo Chee Kong fabricated the story that he (Tahir) was the mastermind behind the so-called “centralised collection” scheme.
Continuing his examination-in-chief on Wednesday, he also denied any involvement in the scheme.
“I was accused by Teo of being the mastermind. I wish to state that I was never involved, did not initiate it, nor did the idea come from me. Whatever story he came up with is purely his own fabrication,” he told Judge Abu Bakar Manat.
Ag Mohd Tahir said the scheme had existed since 1989, as stated by Teo Chee Kong in his witness testimony.
On trial are Ag Mohd Tahir, 63, his wife, Fauziah Piut, 60, and former deputy director, Lim Lam Beng, 66, who are jointly facing 37 charges of money laundering involving cash and bank savings totalling RM61.57 million, as well as the unlawful possession of luxury items between October and November 2016.
He also said Teo’s statements in his witness testimony were untrue and that he was not involved in the collection of commission money or any form of collection or centralised collection as claimed by Teo, adding that he had never discussed the percentage mentioned, nor any breakdown of payments or the formula referred to.
Reading further, Ag Mohd Tahir said he had never given any ideas related to the formula or the centralised collection, was not involved in the matters mentioned, and had never issued any such instructions.
Ag Mohd Tahir also said that he was unaware of any “pre-arrangement” concerning commission payments for water development and maintenance projects in districts across Sabah, which allegedly existed before he was appointed Director in 2003.
“What I knew was only what Teo informed me and even then he did not elaborate much. I had no knowledge of how the commissions were divided or who the other recipients were.”
Ag Tahir said he also did not ask further questions as he did not wish to become involved in such matters.
In response to Teo’s testimony regarding the meeting with then-Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan, Ag Mohd Tahir said the statement was untrue, as he had not been informed of any such meeting and had no involvement with the allocation mentioned.
Ag Mohd Tahir denied claims made by Teo that a 1.5 per cent allocation to the Minister, the Permanent Secretary (SUT), and staff of the Infrastructure Development Ministry was a goodwill payment meant to build rapport.
Ag Mohd Tahir further said he never gave any instruction to Teo for the engineers in the Divisions and Districts to contribute 10.75 per cent to him.
“I was not involved. I also never appointed Teo as a runner, nor was I involved in the distribution according to any schedule. I have never received any share of the money or any form of contribution.
“I only received legitimate profits from my business dealings with Fauzi and Michael Wong,” he said, adding that Teo had merely used his (Tahir’s) name.
Ag Mohd Tahir testified he had no knowledge of the “individual list”, had never seen the document, and had never received any money from Teo.
When referred to Teo’s statement – “Awang Tahir, the JANS Director, was the mastermind behind this formula and he instructed and decided on the design of the formula, with the decision made after discussions with Lim Lam Beng.
Lim Lam Beng informed me that the instruction to design the centralised collection formula came from Awang Tahir” – Ag Mohd Tahir said the statement was untrue.
Ag Mohd Tahir said he was afraid of Teo, who was very rich, came from a wealthy family, and had close ties with top officials, including ministers and senior officers in the Infrastructure and Finance Ministries and that he had been careful around Teoh since joining the department.
Asked why he did not stop the practice of collecting commission for water develop0ment and maintenance projects across Sabah - he said it could jeopardise his safety as the practice involved gangster groups.
Asked by counsel Datuk Ansari Abdullah about Teo’s position in the department, Ag Mohd Tahir said although he held the position of Director, which was higher than Teo, Teo had powerful connections, and his elder brother was also a major contractor with JANS.
As such, he had to play it safe around Teo. Moreover, given Teo’s position as Deputy Director, he was also eyeing the Director’s post.
Ag Tahir Mohd added that Teo had an influential elder brother who was a contractor with strong backing, including support from ministers up to the Chief Minister.
He added Teo once told him to just follow whatever suggestions were made. Teo became deputy director after Lim’s retirement.
Asked about his sources of income, Ag Mohd Tahir said they came from his government salary and allowances, as well as profits from his business ventures with Haris, Michael Wong and his younger brother Fauzi.
He said besides his monthly government salary and allowances, which he estimated totalled over RM1.5 million since 1985, he also got involved in business, mainly in construction and civil engineering.
His earliest partners were Haris, a village friend, and Michael Wong in the 1990s. His family, including his brother Fauzi, was also involved in government contracts. He used his savings to invest in businesses with Haris and Michael Wong.
On Haris, he said he estimated earning around RM5 million in net profit from him, which he received in cash as he trusted Haris, a friend from the same village and that their partnership was in construction projects where he provided capital jointly with Haris.
Asked how he knew it was RM5 million and whether he recorded each time Haris made a payment, he replied: “Roughly, I did make some calculations.”
He added that they no longer did business together after falling out when Haris failed to share profits from a project due to work delays.
Their business partnership lasted about 10 years, said Ag Mohd Tahir, adding that they started their partnership around 1990s.
Asked if he had an agreement with Haris, he replied: “There was no written agreement, it was verbal only, and it happened a long time ago.”
Regarding Michael Wong, Ag Mohd Tahir described him as a long-time business partner and close acquaintance since the 1990s.
Ag Mohd Tahir said he received cash from Michael Wong as part of their business partnership, and that from the 1990s until 2015, he received approximately RM30 million as his share of profits.
He added that he kept no formal records as he fully trusted Wong, who had been his long-time business partner.
He further clarified that he was merely a ‘sleeping partner’, providing capital to Michael Wong in stages, which was then used as working capital for their business.
He added that throughout their partnership, payments were made in cash because he trusted Wong.
“Throughout our business relationship, he never deceived me. So, I had no issue accepting my share of profits in cash.
With his young brother, Fauzi, Ag Mohd Tahir said their business dealings began around 2006 when Fauzi became a small contractor, inspired by another younger brother, Ag Muslim, who had easy access to government departments and helped Fauzi secure projects, along with Michael Wong and Haris, due to his position as the Treasurer of UMNO Kimanis Division.
He said he helped Fauzi by providing working capital.
Ag Mohd Tahir said he received an estimated RM12 million in profits from Fauzi between 2006 and 2016, given to him in cash, which he roughly calculated, and trusted Fauzi as his brother, who had never betrayed him.
Regarding the charges against him, when asked by the court to explain the source of the money kept at his home that was seized by the MACC, he replied: “All the money I kept at the house mentioned in the charge was actually received from Haris, Michael Wong, and my brother Fauzi, along with part of my salary. Every time Haris, Michael Wong, or Fauzi handed me money, I would keep it at my home in Grace Ville.”
When asked how he obtained the money to purchase the cars, he replied: “All the money I used to buy the cars came from funds I received from Haris and Michael Wong, combined with money from Fauzi, which I kept at home, along with part of my salary.”
Regarding the branded watches such as Rolex, Tag Heuer, Patek Philippe and others found at his home and seized by the MACC,Ag Mohd Tahir said they were purchased by his wife, with some bought by himself.
He said they used money he received from Haris, Michael Wong, and Fauzi — which he kept at home — as well as part of his salary to buy those items.
He added that all the jewellery, accessories, and ornaments at his home were purchased by his wife using money he received from Haris, Michael Wong, and Fauzi, which he kept at home, as well as part of his salary.
In response to a question about the money found in the pantry of his office at Wisma Muis, Ag Mohd Tahir said most of the money did not belong to him and had already been there when he took office, while part of it was his, which he received from business partnerships with Michael Wong, Fauzi, and Haris.
He said that most of the money found in the pantry was not his, as it had already been there when he started occupying the office.
However, over time, he did keep some of his own money there, as his younger brother would occasionally come to ask for political donations. His brother was the treasurer of the Umno Kimanis Parliamentary Division.
He estimated that about RM20 million was already in the pantry, while roughly RM3 million belonged to him personally.
Earlier, he said to the best of his recollection, he had never kept money in the cupboard or cabinet, and the pantry lock was already in place when he started working there, with the other keys held by his PA.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, Haresh Prakash Somiah, and Zander Lim appeared for the prosecution.
Ag Mohd Tahir and Fauziah were represented by counsel Datuk Ansari Abdullah and Erveana Ansari, while Lim was represented by Datuk Tan Hock Chuan, Baldev Singh, Karpaljit Singh and Kelvin Wong.
Trial continues.
