Former Malaysian PM Muhyiddin charged with corruption

On Friday, March 10, former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged with abuse of power and money laundering in relation to projects initiated during his administration. He claimed that the accusations were politically motivated.

Three months after Muhyiddin lost a closely contested and acrimonious general election to Anwar Ibrahim, the allegations are likely to heighten political tensions in Malaysia ahead of this year’s important regional elections.

Muhyuddin, who led Malaysia for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, is the second Malaysian leader to be charged with crimes after leaving office.

The prosecution said in a Kuala Lumpur sessions court that Muhyiddin exploited his position as prime minister to take 232.5 million ringgit ($51.44 million) in bribery in a Bersatu bank account.

The former premier and leader of the opposition was charged with two counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of authority.

75-year-old Muhyiddin pleaded not guilty to all six allegations, describing them as “planned political persecution.”

Muhyiddin informed reporters, after being granted bail, that during his tenure as prime minister, not a single cent of the people’s money went into his own pocket.

If found guilty, the former prime minister faces up to 20 years in prison. In addition, he will be liable to a severe financial penalty.

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The next hearing will take place on May 26. On Monday, March 13, the former leader will face an extra charge of abuse of power, he added.

Since losing the national election in November, Muhyiddin and his party have been the subject of graft investigations, with the party’s bank accounts blocked and two leaders accused with bribery.

Moreover, the former prime minister is prohibited from leaving the nation.

The suggestion that the charges against Muhyyiddin are politically motivated has been refuted by Prime Minister Anwar, who has long committed to implement reforms to enhance governance and combat the corruption that has long plagued Malaysia. Anwar stated that he had not obstructed investigations.

The allegations against Muhyiddin come just before key regional elections that will be held in six states by mid-year, with his coalition set to pose a formidable challenge to Anwar’s coalition.

The state elections are viewed as Anwar’s first major test, as he failed to gain a simple majority in the national election last year.

Muhyiddin is the leader of a conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance that has portrayed itself as free of corruption and won the election last year with the support of the country’s majority Malays.

Anwar is the leader of a progressive, multi-ethnic alliance, yet he has been criticized for forming a coalition with the corrupt United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.

Due to significant graft charges, the UMNO was defeated in the 2018 elections, ending the party’s unbroken reign of Malaysia for more than six decades since independence.

Former UMNO leader and prime minister Najib Razak is serving a prison sentence for graft connected to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the current leader of UMNO and Anwar’s deputy, is also facing corruption charges.

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