Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was acquitted by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday of four counts of power abuse charges in relation to projects awarded under his government’s stimulus programme.
In delivering the court’s decision, High Court Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin said the charges were “defective, baseless and vague”.
He added that the charges did not show any details of the offence, causing Muhyiddin to be unable to give proper instructions to his team of lawyers, The Star reported.
“His fundamental right to a fair trial under the Federal Constitution was contravened,” the judge said.
“To allow such proceedings to continue would be an abuse of process,” he added, striking out the four charges and acquitting Muhyiddin.
The Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) said it would appeal against the decision.
In March, Muhyiddin was accused of using his position as former premier and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president to obtain RM232.5 million (S$68.2 million) from three companies – Bukhary Equity, Nepturis and Mamfor – and an individual named Azman Yusoff between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.
The country’s anti-graft agency had investigated allegations that contractors chosen for the Jana Wibawa stimulus programme under Muhyiddin’s government were required to deposit money amounting to RM300 million in Bersatu accounts, in return for projects.
Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, denied the allegations, calling them political slander.
The Jana Wibawa programme was launched to help bumiputera – a term describing the Malay majority and indigenous minorities – contractors during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On April 18, Muhyiddin filed an application to strike out the charges. He claimed they lacked details on his alleged abuse of power when he was the premier.
On Tuesday, outside the court, his supporters raised their hands and greeted his acquittal with shouts of “Allahuakbar” (“Allah is great”), prompting him to join in too.
He said the ruling had vindicated him, adding that he had maintained all along that the charges were politically motivated.
“It was meant to oppress me, these false charges that do not disclose any offence. I will come down to the ground and explain this to the people,” news portal Malaysiakini quoted him as saying.
“This was an abuse of the court process by certain quarters. This should not have happened.”
The opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition said it had initiated legal action to sue the government and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, with opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin urging the AGC to drop all “selective prosecution” cases against its leaders.
However, this does not mean Muhyiddin is now scot-free. He has three money laundering charges pending in court but his legal team is confident that these will be dismissed soon.
“In the next few days, the legal team will meet and discuss the three remaining charges. Most importantly, the main charges have fallen this morning,” said lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.
