Witness confirms ex-Labuan MP's father, brother LLPM shareholders

KUALA LUMPUR: The secretary of the Labuan Liberty Port Management Sdn Bhd (LLPM) today confirmed in the High Court here today that the father and younger brother of former Labuan MP, Datuk Rozman Isli, were shareholders in the company that managed the Labuan Liberty Port Terminal from 1998 to 2020.

Normala Mat Jali, 59, the 10th prosecution witness in Rosman's trial for abuse of power, said Rozman's father and brother each owned 31,250 share units out of a total of three million shares in the company.

"With regards to shareholder ownership, based on the company records of FNS Corporate Services Sdn Bhd, Isli Siput @ Ali became a shareholder in LLPM on Jan 12, 1999 and Tony Noolan on Jan 10, 2002. This information was reported to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

"The information is based on the printout of the company's information related to the names of directors and shareholders contained in MY DATA, SSM dated Feb 5, 2020," she said.

She testified that FNS Corporate Services was first appointed as company secretary for LLPM on Aug 27 1998, and LLPM was established on Aug 27,1998, adding that the company was still active.

Normala said this when reading her witness statement at the trial of the former Labuan MP, who as an official of a public body, namely the deputy chairman of the Labuan Port Authority, is accused of using his position to obtain gratification, namely an employment contract as the LLPM operator, in which his father and younger brother have an interest in.

In a previous proceeding, LLPM security manager, Mohamad Kasli Sulaiman Darja, 56, told the court that Rozman never declared his father and younger brother as LLPM shareholders.

Cross-examined by lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, representing Rozman, Normala agreed that based on the company's minority shareholder records, Rozman's father and younger brother have the least number of shares, at 1.04 per cent each.

She also agreed with the lawyer's suggestion that company director, Datuk Mohd Alias Abd Rahman, was the largest shareholder.

Earlier, ninth prosecution witness, Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim ,63, testified that in a Labuan Port Board directors meeting on Dec 12, 2019, Rozman did not declare his father and younger brother's interest in LLPM, and also declared that he had no interest in the Labuan Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPLM) as he was no longer its president.

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Feisal Mohd Azmi whether Rozman, at any time while being a member of the Labuan Port Authority (LPL) board of directors, had declared himself to have an interest in LLPM in which his father and younger brother were shareholders, the former LPL board member replied: "As far as I remember, no Yang Arif."

Rozman is alleged to have committed the offence at the TKSU meeting room, level 9, of the Transport Ministry headquarters, Jalan Tun Hussein, Precinct 4, Putrajaya between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm on March 21, 2018.

He was charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same act, 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.

The trial before Judge Rozina Ayob continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA