KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — A former sales manager of Aidil Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd testified in the Sessions Court that RM222,811.95 was deposited into the personal bank account of Datuk Seri Azlan Man after the former Perlis Menteri Besar cancelled a family vacation to London, the United Kingdom, in 2016.
Abdul Rahim Halim, 47, said the package, scheduled from December 23, 2016, to January 1, 2017, amounted to RM253,195.40 and was paid for by the Perlis state government.
“The 2016 vacation did not proceed, but a sum of RM222,811.95 was refunded to Azlan’s personal account via a cheque dated (to) January 24, 2017, following instructions from the Menteri Besar of Perlis’ then-Senior Private Secretary Herwadey Hashim.
“This amount (RM222,811.95) reflects a 12 per cent deduction from the RM253,195.40 paid, as a service charge by Aidil Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd,” he said.
Abdul Rahim was reading his witness statement on the sixth day of the trial involving the former Bintong state assemblyman today, who faces 10 charges of submitting false claims and receiving proceeds from unlawful activities.
Yesterday, Sri Kedawang Travel and Tours (W) Sdn Bhd director Alimah Omar, 66, testified that the refund, totalling RM629,395.30, was supposed to be made to the Perlis State Secretary’s Office (SUK).
However, she was informed that the refund claim was made by Azlan, resulting in the cheque being issued in his name.
Abdul Rahim said he handed the refund cheque to Herwadey at the Alamanda Shopping Centre, Putrajaya in 2017.
He added that the state government also booked a vacation package for Azlan and his family to London between November 23 and November 30, 2017, and approved a RM244,079.30 payment to Aidil Travel and Tours.
“Herwadey contacted me and requested that I prepare a quotation for the Perlis Menteri Besar’s family trip to London, based on the amount he was entitled to,” said Abdul Rahim, who is now a director at Corporate Travel Advisor Sdn Bhd.
When deputy public prosecutor Haresh Prakash Somiah asked why the witness agreed with Azlan’s lawyer, Azhar Amir, that the travel agency took no action after receiving the payment for the vacation package, Abdul Rahim responded, “I was instructed by Herwadey to return the money to the Menteri Besar of Perlis (Azlan).”
Haresh: En. Abdul Rahim, why did you agree with the lawyer, that the vacation tickets were never booked because they never existed, yet in your witness statement, you say there was a cancellation of the vacation package?
Abdul Rahim: The cancellation referred to the quotation I provided earlier.
Azlan, 65, faces five counts of false claims for overseas vacation allowances amounting to over RM1.18 million, allegedly committed at the Perlis State Secretary’s Office, Kompleks Dewan Undangan Negeri, Persiaran Wawasan, Kangar, between December 2013 and December 2017.
The charges involve quotations for flight tickets to London and invoices from Sri Kedawang Travel and Tours (W) Sdn Bhd and Aidil Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd.
He is charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher upon conviction.
The trial before Judge Azura Alwi resumes tomorrow.
— Bernama
