EMBATTLED Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan believes he will be able to prove his innocence in court over the corruption charges levelled against him in connection with the Jana Wibawa aid programme.

He said the current charges were politically motivated to cover the failures of the current administration.

“We will prove (my innocence) in court.

“We have to make sure that there is independence of the court institution because this will prove that we have not done anything wrong,” the Tasek Gelugor MP told reporters at the KL Court Complex today.

Earlier today, Wan Saiful claimed trial to the charge of accepting almost RM7 million in kickbacks linked to the Jana Wibawa aid programme.

He was also charged with soliciting RM232 million in bribes in relation to the same programme to help highly placed Bumiputera contractors affected by the pandemic.  

The 48-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charges read out to him in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court before Justice Azura Alwi.

He said such prosecution against him was uncalled for.

“These accusations against me should not have happened.”

The Bersatu man said the unity government led by Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional should not be wasting time trying to charge people as a way to deflect the focus on their failures.

“We should focus on the welfare of the people, on the situation affecting the people, on the cost of living.

“The prices of too many things are rising, in fact soaring.

“Even the demand for targeted withdrawal from the Employees’ Provident Fund (is not allowed) despite calls by people at various levels.

“So, what happened here was they created such accusations to divert attention from the failures of this government, the failure to come up with new ideas, ideas for solutions to the people’s problems.

“When they fail, they try to cover it up by creating a case that shouldn’t exist,” he said.

Wan Saiful is accused of asking for RM232 million from one Lian Tan Chuan in April last year as incentive to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd land the contract for the Central Spine Road project.  

He is also accused of accepting RM6.96 million in bribes, which was deposited into the WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd CIMB bank account in 2022.

Wan Saiful is the owner of WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd.

The two charges were framed under section 16(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. The offences are punishable by up to 20 years in jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.  

Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin led the prosecution while Wan Saiful was represented by Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Takiyuddin Hassan.  

The court allowed bail at RM400,000 and fixed March 22 for re-mention.  

The accused was also ordered to surrender his passport and to report at the MACC office once every two months. – Bernama, February 21, 2023.