THE accusations against Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders in the Jana Wibawa programme were not true, adding that the authorities should also question Barisan Nasional leaders, said Azmin Ali.

The PN information chief said while the programme was started by PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin it was BN that continued with it after he had resigned as prime minister.

“Not all offences stated were during PN’s time in the government.

“At that time, the prime minister was Ismail Sabri Yaakob who was also Umno’s vice president and not Muhyiddin.

“Why are only Bersatu leaders the target of investigations and prosecution while BN leaders are excluded?” Azmin said in a statement this evening.

Azmin was refering to Segambut Bersatu division deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad and Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan who were charged with soliciting bribes relating to the Jana Wibawa project.

Azmin said that the charge sheet does not even mention Bersatu or PN.

“If Jana Wibawa was the focus of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation, I know that this programme continued after Muhyiddin had resigned as prime minister.

“In fact, many project approvals were given when BN led the government.

“This clearly shows that there is an attempt at the highest level in the unity government that are using government institutions to carry out selective prosecutions against political figures,” Azmin said.

He added that the prosecutions were carried out only for the purpose of character assassination of Bersatu leaders ahead of the state elections, regardless of whether the charges had a solid basis or not.

“This is the evil conspiracy of the unity government to save their unpopular position in the eyes of the people.

“The action taken against Bersatu and PN is a form of political oppression.”

Jana Wibawa, or Programme Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa, was mooted during the Perikatan Nasional administration, where Bersatu was a component party.

The government at the time said the programme was set up to improve the capacity of Bumiputera contractors in the construction industry, as well as to expedite project execution to spur the nation’s economic recovery post Covid-19.

Last week, MACC summoned former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin to record his statement on the programme. It was reported that Muhyiddin was among individuals being investigated by the agency over the matter, but he has claimed that he was called in to give his statement and was not a suspect. –  February 28, 2023