Bersatu received millions because of Muhyiddin, court told

2026-03-09 - 03:54

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin faces seven charges linked to his administration’s Jana Wibawa programme, involving the movement of more than RM200 million into his party’s bank accounts. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR: Millions of ringgit in donations flowed into Bersatu because Muhyiddin Yassin was both party president and prime minister at the time, the prosecution told the High Court as his criminal trial opened here today. In his opening statement, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin agreed that the funds linked to the Jana Wibawa programme were not paid to Muhyiddin personally. “We acknowledge that the millions of ringgit did not go into the accused’s own pocket but were deposited into the account of his associate, namely Bersatu. “The evidence will show that, if not for the accused’s position as both Bersatu president and prime minister at the time, the party would not have received millions of ringgit in donations.” The lead prosecutor also said that then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz merely acted on a minute issued by Muhyiddin, and did not personally benefit from the decisions made. “Neither did the finance minister’s associate at the time, Umno, obtain any benefit,” he added. Wan Shaharuddin said the prosecution would rely on documentary, direct and circumstantial evidence to prove its case. He said the prosecution would call around 30 witnesses to testify at the trial. Muhyiddin, 78, faces seven charges linked to his administration’s Jana Wibawa programme, a government initiative introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to assist Bumiputera contractors. The Pagoh MP is charged with four counts of abusing his position to allegedly solicit RM225.3 million in bribes for Bersatu from three companies and one individual, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd and Azman Yusoff. He is alleged to have committed the offences at the Prime Minister’s Office between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021. He also faces three counts of money laundering involving RM200 million, allegedly received from Bukhary Equity and deposited into Bersatu’s accounts at AmBank and CIMB Bank. The offences are alleged to have been committed at AmBank in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, and CIMB Bank Jalan Stesen Sentral, between Feb 25, 2021 and July 8, 2022. Earlier this morning, Muhyiddin claimed trial to an amended fourth charge, in which the amount allegedly received from Azman was reduced from RM12 million to RM4.8 million. Counsel K Kumaraendran, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Rosli Dahlan, Amer Hamzah Arshad Chetan Jethwani, Kee Wei Loon, Low Wei Loke, Siti Summaiyah Ahmad Jaafar, Lee Yei Wei and Tang Jia Yearn represented Muhyiddin. The trial before Justice Noor Ruwena Nurdin continues.