KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak today provided detailed accounts of the infamous family vacation aboard a yacht in Southern France with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho and members of the Saudi royal family.
The former prime minister described the trip as purely a family holiday before Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud invited him to the yacht RM Elegance for afternoon tea.
"Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and my children Nor Ashman Razak, Nooryana Najwa, and Riza Aziz were on the trip.
"Apart from my family, my friend Tan Sri Bustari Yusuf and his children also joined us.
"You can immediately visualise from the membership of my group that it was meant to be a private holiday to begin with," he said when testifying in his corruption trial for misappropriating funds belonging to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) at the High Court today.
However, Najib said fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was not on board.
Najib's lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, then asked his client to describe his meeting with Prince Tukri.
Najib said it was his first time meeting Saudi royalty.
"I met Prince Turki on the second or third day of the vacation when the captain of RM Elegance informed me that he had extended an invitation for me and my family to join him for afternoon tea on his yacht, which was nearby.
"I was quite surprised by the invitation, as Prince Turki was the favourite son of King Abdullah, the reigning King of Saudi Arabia at the time. I graciously accepted the invitation.
"When we boarded the yacht, we were greeted by Prince Turki and a gentleman who introduced himself as Tarek Obaid.
"Our host invited us into the yacht's main living room, and upon entering, I noticed that Low was already there. He then greeted me and my family," he said.
Shafee then asked Najib if he was surprised by Low's presence during the trip, to which he responded in the affirmative.
"However, given what I understood about Low's connections and influence, particularly his close ties with Middle Eastern royalty, it was not entirely unexpected.
"Low's associations often afforded him access to Middle Eastern royalty, so while I was surprised at first, his presence was consistent with the connections he maintained," said Najib.
Shafee then shifted his line of questioning to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Nur Aida Ariffin, who had described the meeting as a government-to-government (G2G) engagement during her testimony in the trial.
"I deny the accusations... the meeting I had with Prince Turki, Tarek Obaid, and Low during the afternoon tea was entirely informal and was nothing like what has been suggested.
"It was, in fact, the first time I had met both Prince Turki and Tarek Obaid. The idea that we could have been discussing some sort of sinister plan is not only ridiculou but entirely unfounded.
"If there had been any hidden agenda or nefarious intent, I certainly would not have allowed photographs to be taken showing us together in such an innocuous setting.
"The suggestion that we were plotting anything underhanded while my family and friends were present is absurd and rather unnatural," he said, adding that the MACC never confronted this allegation while recording his statement.
Najib also described Nur Aida as lacking diplomatic understanding when she asserted that the meeting was a government-to-government (G2G) engagement.
"Having been a politician for 33 years at the time, I am fully aware of protocol and the proper procedures for official engagements.
"Characterising a social courtesy extended during a private vacation as anything more than that is entirely deluded and deranged that can only come from someone unversed with diplomacy," he added.