MUHYIDDIN Yassin is a suspect while Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is also under investigation in the probe into the Jana Wibawa programme, a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) source said.

The source told the New Straits Times that as such, the former prime minister should not comment on the case as it could interfere with the investigation.

“Investigations are also underway against several people,” said the source.

“Former finance minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz will also be called up to give a statement in the near future.”

Yesterday the Pagoh MP said he had given a statement to the MACC on his role in the Jana Wibawa programme but that he was not a suspect in the probe.

He said he explained to investigators how the project contracts were awarded.

“It has nothing to do with the claims of the current prime minister (that billions of ringgit were embezzled),” he told reporters after attending a blood donation drive in Kuala Lumpur

Muhyiddin said he told MACC officers it was his job as the prime minister to recommend the contractors for approval by the Finance Ministry (MOF).

“Jana Wibawa was a scheme proposed by then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz to help Bumiputera contractors during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of them had to close down.

“Only the MOF had the power to approve and select the companies while the Prime Minister’s Office’s (PMO) role was to suggest the names of the companies. But the power of approval did not lie with the PMO,” he said.

“It is not fair that the government of the day put the focus on me when it was the finance minister then who made the decisions,” said Muhyiddin. 

Last Wednesday Putrajaya announced it had postponed RM5.7 billion worth of rural development projects under the Jana Wibawa scheme pending a review to find out whether the contracts were awarded in accordance with procurement rules.

“The MOF has instructed me to postpone the implementation of these projects. The procurement was carried out via selective tenders or direct negotiation,” Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying in reports.

“It is the prime minister’s policy as finance minister to see whether the procurement procedure and expenditure governance are in accordance with the rules and regulations,” he said, referring to Anwar Ibrahim. – February 19, 2023.