SEGAMBUT Bersatu division deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad was charged again in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today with soliciting a bribe of RM2 million relating to a Jana Wibawa project.

Adam, 42, who is also a businessman, claimed trial after the charge was read before judge Azura Alwi.

“Understand the charge and request to go to trial,” said the accused, who was dressed in a blue suit.

According to the charge, Adam was accused of asking for RM2 million in bribe from Lian Tian Chuan as service for the accused to assist Nepturis Sdn Bhd to obtain a project of the North Klang district police headquarters in Selangor from the government of Malaysia, valued at RM141 million.

The offence was allegedly committed at a restaurant in Publika around January last year.

He was charged under section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a maximum 20 years’ jail and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Adam was represented by counsel Rajan Navaratnam while deputy public prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh prosecuted.

Farah proposed for bail and additional conditions imposed on the accused to be tied to the other charges he faces at the Shah Alam court.

Judge Azura agreed with the suggestion and granted RM300,000 bail. She fixed March 23 for re-mention.

Last week, Adam was charged with four counts of soliciting and accepting bribes concerning the Jana Wibawa scheme at the same Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, and at the Shah Alam Sessions Court. 

At the same time, Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan claimed trial to two charges of soliciting and receiving bribes worth RM6.9 million in relation to the programme.

Wan Saiful, who is also the Tasek Gelugor MP, was charged with soliciting an unspecified amount from Nepturis via Lian to facilitate its pre-approval as a contractor by the government in April 2022 for the Central Spine Road project worth RM232 million.

The second charge against Wan Saiful was for receiving a bribe amounting to RM6.962 million from Nepturis, through his company’s CIMB Bank account under WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd.

Wan Saiful, who is also a former chairman of National Higher Education Fund Corp, was accused of committing the offences between July 8 and Sept 30 in 2022.

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.

International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who served as the finance minister under Muhyiddin, also confirmed he had been summoned by the MACC over the matter. – February 28, 2023.