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By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 8: The trial between Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen continued today with the cross-examination of the tenth witness, Tan Kai.
The focus of the cross-examination was primarily on the events and meetings related to the State Security Meeting and the Food Supply Chain Committee that were held in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The witness was asked about his attendance and involvement in these meetings, as well as his knowledge of the decisions made during those meetings. The aim of the questions being asked by the counsel for the defendant was to determine whether the witness had personal knowledge or was relying on secondary sources.
Tan Kai said he did not attend the meetings personally, namely the State Security Meeting that was held on March 26, 2020, the Food Supply Chain Committee meeting on March 27, 2020 and the Food Supply Chain Committee meeting on March 30.
However, Tan Kai maintained that while he did not physically attend certain meetings, he had knowledge based on various documents, correspondence and discussions with other individuals. However, Michael Kong challenged the witness’s assertions, suggesting hat he lacked personal involvement in the events.
The contentious issue revolved around whether the witness’s testimony was based on his own experiences and knowledge or whether he was relying on hearsay and secondary sources.
During the cross-examination, Michael also aimed to gain clarity on the allocation and management of food aid funds for different constituencies in Sarawak from Tan Kai.
By referring to the letter issued by the Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development on March 31, 2020, Michael questioned Tan Kai’s understanding of the recipients of the letter. However, Tan Kai hesitated to provide definite answers, explaining that he was not the author of the letter and could not be certain about its contents.
Michael continued to centre around the allocation of funds to various constituencies and whether opposition ADUNs were included in the distribution. Tan Kai agreed that based on the letter by the Food Supply Chain Committee dated March 31, 2020, each DUN constituency will be granted an allocation of RM200,000 for the purpose of preparing food supply but he reaffirmed that it was never materialised.
When asked based on the letter dated March 31, 2020, on whether or not the allocation of RM200,000 for opposition Sarawak State Legislative assemblymen will be distributed through the service centres of GPS State Legislative assembymen, Tan Kai said it mentioned “bukan terletak di bawah GPS”, and it did not mention opposition Sarawak State Legislative assemblymen.
The trial was scheduled to continue tomorrow, before High Court Judge Dato Haji Alwi Abdul Wahab.
Counsel Shankar Ram, along with Russell Lim and Yu Ying Ying, represented the plaintiff, while Chong Siew Chiang, Michael Kong, and Brenda Chong represented the defendant. — DayakDaily
