THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has quashed Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin’s four abuse of power charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme. 

Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin ruled that the charges were defective and not in line with the criminal procedure code.

He said the charges against Muhyiddin were not strong enough as it did not disclose his alleged offence under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.

The High Court acquitted and discharged Muhyiddin of the four abuse of power charges, which were still pending at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

Muhyiddin was previously charged with four counts of using his position as the prime minister and Bersatu president to ask for a RM200 million bribe from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd at the Prime Minister’s Department Complex, Federal Government Administrative Centre, Putrajaya between February 8 and 25, 2021.

The four charges were framed under section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, which carries a maximum 20 years’ jail, or a fine of five times the value of the money solicited, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

He was also charged with two counts of receiving RM195 million in funds that are proceeds from unlawful activities between February 25 and July 16, 2021 and February 8 till July 8 last year.

The PN chairman had claimed that he was not a suspect in the probe and that the scheme was proposed by former finance minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Jana Wibawa was introduced to expedite project execution to spur the nation’s economic recovery post-Covid.

It was also aimed at improving the capacity of Bumiputera contractors in the construction sector to be more resilient and competitive.

Bersatu’s Wan Saiful Wan Jan previously claimed trial to the charge of accepting almost RM7 million in kickbacks in connection with the programme.

He was also charged with soliciting for RM232 million in bribes in relation to the same programme. – August 15, 2023.