KUALA LUMPUR – Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan has claimed in the Dewan Rakyat that he was induced to switch his support to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with an offer to have his corruption charges dropped.
The opposition lawmaker’s claims immediately drew outcry from government backbenchers, who stood up to interject his speech, telling him to restate his claim outside the house, where MPs do not have immunity for things said inside Parliament.
He said the offers made to him included RM1.7 million as a federal constituency allocation, funds to cover his service centre operations and allocations for constituency projects.
“All sorts of tokens. But there is one that affects national stability. They said they would cancel my charges,” Wan Saiful claimed.
Wan Saiful was debating the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address today when he launched into claims about being contacted on the phone by individuals asking to meet him.
Without naming anyone, he said he first met “them” on January 17 this year after being contacted by phone at the Westin Hotel in Bukit Bintang. This was followed by a second meeting at the JW Marriott.
He said he was last contacted on Monday night after the king’s royal address to open Parliament, asking him to meet at a hotel in Saujana.
“I felt forced to entertain them as they have power. I have records of their modus operandi,” he said, adding that one of “them” was a “friend”.
The Bersatu Supreme Council member identified a person he met but said that he was unsure if that was the individual’s real name.
He was interrupted several times by various Pakatan Harapan MPs who told him to repeat his claims outside the house or to lodge reports with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul told Wan Saiful to stop, as none of what he said could be verified.
“This is hearsay, I cannot verify it. Did that person really exist? We don’t know. In the Dewan, we should talk about matters concerning the rakyat.”
To date, six Bersatu MPs have switched allegiance to support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but without quitting the party, thereby retaining their seats. Bersatu is to amend its party constitution at a special general assembly this Saturday to address this loophole in current anti-party hopping laws.
Wan Saiful, on his social media accounts last night, said he would be making an important announcement when debating the royal address today.
He is currently facing two charges of soliciting and accepting bribes of RM6.9 million, and 18 counts of money laundering involving RM5.59 million.
The RM6.9 million allegedly involves the Jana Wibawa scheme, in which Wan Saiful is accused of receiving an inducement in return for helping a company secure a project from the government.
The RM5.59 million was allegedly laundered by purchasing a Ford Ranger, making payments to the National Sports Council, and transferring money to several company accounts. – February 28, 2024