PROSECUTORS will be objecting to Muhyiddin Yassin’s application for permanent release of his passport, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court was told this morning.

Deputy public prosecutor Nor Asma Ahmad told the court they needed more time to respond to Muhyiddin’s application.

“The notice of application was served to us on October 17. We will object to this application. We seek two weeks (to file the prosecution’s affidavit in response),” Nor Asma told trial judge Azura Alwi.

The judge then set November 23 as the new date.

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman’s passport was surrendered to the criminal court as part of RM2 million bail terms in his ongoing money laundering case.

Azura told the prosecution to file its affidavit by or on November 8, with any reply by Muhyiddin’s legal team by or on November 17.

The former prime minister applied for the unconditional permanent return of his passport so that he can take his family for a holiday in London at the end of the year and undergo medical treatment in Singapore.

The PN chairman said in a supporting affidavit that the year-end trip to London is part of a family tradition in which he takes his family for a month-long trip every year.

“This trip is important because I can spend time with my family because this year has been very stressful for my family and I,” the Pagoh MP said in the document.

Muhyiddin said he would need to undergo a heart examination through a stress test on a treadmill at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

He said he had previously undergone the treatment at the Mayo Clinic in the United States several years ago, where doctors had informed him that the Mount Elizabeth Hospital has the same treatment and diagnostic tools.

He added that his lawyers’ advice was that the RM2 million bail he had provided earlier would be sufficient to ensure his presence in court and the handing over of his passport was merely an additional guarantee. – October 25, 2023.