KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu has blamed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) move to freeze party accounts on the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin called it a politically motivated move to hurt the party and Perikatan Nasional’s reputation.

Nevertheless, he said Bersatu will cooperate with MACC, and instructed party leaders and officials summoned by the agency to give full cooperation.

Hamzah’s remarks followed confirmation by MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki who earlier said that the party’s accounts had been frozen on suspicion of receiving illegal proceeds.

“Bersatu is disappointed with the actions of the PH-BN government which has used a federal agency as its tool to achieve their political agenda which is to destroy Bersatu and PN.

“We are sure the people can see through the disgusting strategies of the PH-BN government which only wants to distract the public’s attention from its failures, as well the nepotism it practices,” Hamzah said in a statement this evening.

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Bersatu has pre-emptively published its account statement after rumours spread that the political party’s account has been frozen. When the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) finally confirmed that Bersatu’s (PPBM) accounts were indeed frozen over money-laundering investigation on Feb 1, 2023 – one day after its account statement – the party thought it could claim innocence.

The damage control by the Malaysian United Indigenous Party was to create a narrative that if it could reveal its assets and cash to the public “before” the MACC officially announced the freezing of its accounts, it might look less guilty. And if it could show that its accounts did not have RM4.5 billion, it could hoodwink its gullible supporters into believing it did not steal any money.
 
After publishing the party’s account statement, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin’s former principal private secretary, Marzuki Mohamad, immediately gloats – “For those who accused Bersatu of receiving RM4 billion from the RM92.5 billion Economic Stimulus Package fund, you can see the audited party account statements for 2020 and 2021.”

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Letter to editor

FOLLOWING the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) decision to freeze the accounts of Bersatu recently, the party has made public its audited accounts for 2020 and 2021. The period coincided with the duration its party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was Prime Minister, ie from March 2020 to August 2021.

Presumably, Bersatu’s move was to portray the party as being above board as it was unafraid to disclose where its sources of incomes were from and how they were spent. It also jives with Bersatu’s narrative that the unity government was using the MACC as a tool for political intimidation.

But a closer inspection of the published accounts has raised worrying questions. In 2020, the party received RM108,164,679 (RM108.1 mil) in “sponsorships and donations”. The following year, the amount went up by about 36% to RM147,647,329 (RM147.65 mil).

As we know, 2020 and 2021 were the years when COVID-19 was at its peak. Many Malaysians succumbed to the disease while businesses were hard hit with many folding. It was a dire time – not just in terms of public health – but also economically. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it was the worst crisis the country had ever faced.ic credit: Bernama
But for a ruling political party to receive such a substantial amount in its official accounts during the said period certainly raised eyebrows (more so, no records are available on whether unofficially, the party and its leaders received any more donations).

Until Bersatu makes public the identity of the donors and whether or not there was any quid pro quo arrangements, the public has the right to be sceptical.

Who were the donors and sponsors? Were they not hit by the pandemic? If they were businessmen, were their companies insulated from the pandemic and they did not lay off workers, cut their salaries or scaled down operations? Were they recipients of the Bersatu-led Government’s largesse?

As we know, there is no such thing as a free lunch, much less a “feast” when many Malaysians were literally going to bed hungry during that period. Some had resorted to literally flying the white flag to raise awareness about their plights. Many had lost their jobs or saw their incomes slashed and making ends meet became a luxury.

While the Government had provided some relief in the form of direct cash aid or food baskets for the B40, a substantial amount still came from taxpayers themselves such as allowing EPF (Employees Provident Fund) contributors to withdraw their own savings or reduction in SOCSO contribution by employees.

Bersatu leaders may think that they were being bold by publishing its audited accounts. Far from it, the move only cast more aspersions on the party.

This is especially so in light of claims by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that there were lapses in government expenditure amounting to RM92.5 bil during the administration of Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

It didn’t help that the cousin of Muhyiddin’s son-in-law had recently been detained by the MACC over government procurement exercises relating to the various economic stimulus packages between 2020 and 2021.

Bersatu has a lot to answer for. It should worry about its own backyard and come clean over its finances before it starts thinking about wrestling back Putrajaya – whether through electoral – but more likely, given its track record, backdoor means.
 
Edwyn Soo
Puchong, Selangor

Source: Focus Malaysia

THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is believed to have made headway in its investigations into Bersatu’s source of funding with several political donors been summoned to explain their contributions to the party.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Star that this is linked to the recent freeze on the party’s accounts.

“Aside from Bersatu officials, investigators also called up political contributors,” one of the source told the mainstream daily. “Investigators wanted to find out if their contributions were in view of projects or contracts awarded to them or if they were given assurances of future projects”.

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KUALA LUMPUR – A source from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed that former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is a suspect in its ongoing investigation into the Jana Wibawa government stimulus initiative. 

This is despite the Perikatan Nasional chairman refuting the matter yesterday after being questioned by MACC recently.

New Straits Times quoted the source as affirming that Muhyiddin was called in by the anti-graft body to provide his statement as a suspect, and also that former finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz would be probed.

In this regard, he said the Pagoh MP should not issue any speculative comments to avoid interfering with the ongoing investigation.

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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has threatened to sue those who insinuate that he is corrupt. Well, if he is serious about his threats, he should start taking legal action against Anwar Ibrahim because the 10th Prime Minister has suggested on numerous occasions that he was corrupt by awarding lucrative contracts to his son-in-law.

In fact, PM Anwar has repetitively dropped some hints that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should and would investigate large-scale corruption cases without fear and favour. Obviously, it was a warning to MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki, who was promoted by Muhyiddin in March 2020, not to close one-eye over corruptions involving his former political master.
 
Azam was previously exposed of owning shares beyond his mean – 1,930,000 shares of Gets Global Berhad (formally known as KBES Berhad) in 2015. He then cooked up a half-baked story that it was his little brother’s fault for using his share trading account to buy millions of shares. Thanks to then-PM Muhyiddin’s interference, the Securities Commission found Azam not guilty.

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