PUTRAJAYA – The Court of Appeal has overturned the high court’s decision to acquit ex-prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of four charges of abusing his position to obtain RM232.5 million for his party Bersatu through the Jana Wibawa project.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member bench chaired by Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail ruled that high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin had erred in his decision that the four charges did not disclose any offence known to law.
The decision by the appellate court today means that the four charges against the Perikatan Nasional chairman have been reinstated in the sessions court.
Hadhariah said the Court of Appeal accepted the prosecution’s submissions against the high court’s ruling that the charges brought against the Bersatu president are vague, ineffective and flawed.
“The four charges are clear and unambiguous. As such, there is no necessity for the prosecution to set out the manner or give further particulars as to how the offence was committed.
“Hence, we are of the view that the learned high court judge had erred in law when he ruled that the four charges (against Muhyiddin) did not disclose any offence known to law,” Hadhariah said.
The case mention was fixed at the Kuala Lumpur sessions court on March 4.
In an immediate reaction, Muhyiddin’s lead counsel, Datuk Hisyam Teh PohTeik, told reporters outside the court that the Pagoh MP’s legal team will “seriously consider” filing an appeal to the Federal Court to quash today’s verdict.
Earlier, Hadhariah, who sat with judges Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk S.M. Komathy Suppiah, said the panel’s decision to allow the prosecution’s appeal against Muhyiddin’s acquittal took into account a dispute over the term “associate”.
The prosecution in its appeal contended that Bersatu, as a political society, came within the definition of “associate” under Section 3 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, as well as the term “organisation” under the same act.
“We agree with this submission. We find that there is no merit in the respondents’ submission that because the word ‘society’ is not mentioned in Section 3 (of the MACC Act), therefore a society cannot come within the definition of ‘associate’,” Hadhariah said in reading out the judgement.
“In our view, the ordinary meaning of ‘organisation’ is a group formed for a particular purpose, the same as with a society. It follows that Bersatu, as a political society, comes within the definition of ‘associate’ under the act.”
Muhyiddin, when met outside the court, declined to speak to the press and was sombre-looking as he stood by his lawyer, Teh, who addressed the media.
Teh said the defence team will “carefully study” relevant laws and procedures before filing an appeal.
Muhyiddin, 76, was granted an acquittal by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on August 15 last year after judge Jamil ruled that the four abuse of power charges against him were defective and not in line with the Criminal Procedure Code.
The judge had also said that the unclear nature of the charges made it difficult for Muhyiddin to prepare his defence and rejected the prosecution’s previous argument that the details and particulars of the charges would be revealed during trial proceedings.
This came after Muhyiddin, on April 18, last year, filed a notice of motion to request that he be acquitted and discharged of the four charges, alleging that the charges lacked particulars as to how he had abused his position or the Prime Minister’s Office for bribery-related purposes.
Muhyiddin was charged with abusing his power on March 10 last year over the RM232.5 million, allegedly for party use, which is said to have come from three companies – Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd – as well as from one Datuk Azman Yusof.
The charges under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act carry a maximum imprisonment term of 20 years or a fine of five times the value of the money solicited, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Separately, Muhyiddin is also facing three money-laundering charges related to RM195 million received from Bukhary Equity and another RM5 million from unlawful activities. – February 28, 2024