Witness: Zahid's daughter said father had funds for her takeover of company's share, given director post after RM8m deposit paidDatuk Seri Zahid Hamidi is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex July 28, 2020. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri
Today, Abdul Rashid spoke of how he had initially sought to sell off his 60 per cent stake in hotel management firm Ri-Yaz Asset Sdn Bhd, as the company was facing difficulties in terms of its repayment for a US$24.8 million Exim Bank loan for the purchase of a hotel in Bali, Indonesia and as that hotel’s revenue was insufficient to cover loan repayments.
In that meeting, Abdul Rashid said he had laid out several conditions for the takeover of his 60 per cent stake, including for Nurulhidayah to take over the company’s US$24 million loan and release him from being the guarantor, and to repay him the RM20 million advance that he had previously given the company.
“At the same time, Datuk Nurulhidayah told me that she should be able to make decisions in the company since the deposit payment has been made by her father,” Abdul Rashid said, adding that he had then proposed that she be appointed a director of Ri-Yaz while he stepped down as the company’s director.
“When the bank did not approve, the whole thing falls They rejected our application, they rejected the proposal because we asked for me to be released from being a guarantor. The bank said it didn’t want to release me as guarantor, I have to remain as the sole guarantor if the share purchase is to proceed, so I did not want, and the whole thing fell through,” Abdul Rashid told deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi.