By Justin Cheng and Timothy Achariam | The Edge Malaysia
Two bank officers told the High Court on Thursday that transactions totalling RM5 million — from a businessman and a construction company — into Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s bank account were transparent and recorded permanently in the banking system.
Herdayanti Md Hasan, an assistant manager at CIMB Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur, and Alfian Othman, an assistant manager at Maybank Kota Kemuning, Selangor, testified as prosecution witnesses in former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s corruption trial.
During cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s counsel, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Herdayanti agreed that payments made via cheques or online transfers are transparent, with details captured within the system.
Amer: Payments by cheque or online transfer are transparent and leave a permanent record in the banking system, correct?
Herdayanti: Yes, agreed.
Amer: Nothing can be hidden because everything is captured by the system?
Herdayanti: Yes, agreed.
Herdayanti testified that a total of RM4 million was credited into the party’s account through four separate cheques issued by businessman and managing director of KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd Datuk Azman Yusoff.
According to her testimony, the initial phase of these transfers occurred on Sept 24, 2021, involving two initial payments of RM2 million and RM1 million.
The remaining balance was credited over a year later through two additional payments of RM500,000 each, both recorded on Nov 3, 2022. These final tranches completed the verified RM4 million sum linked to the businessman’s account.
The second witness, Alfian Othman, testified that Nepturis Sdn Bhd had transferred RM1 million via a single cheque to Bersatu, which cleared on Feb 21, 2022.
Amer: In that transaction, not a single payment was made to Muhyiddin, do you agree?
Alfian: Agree.
Amer: It’s only to Bersatu?
Alfian: That’s right.
The two witnesses are among five bank officers called by the prosecution to verify transactions involving millions of ringgit into Bersatu accounts.
In earlier proceedings, three other bank officers testified to transactions involving RM800,000, RM6 million and RM19.3 million, respectively, into the party accounts.
The trial continues on Thursday, April 28.
Muhyiddin, 78, who had been the prime minister and Bersatu president at the time of the alleged offences, faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes linked to the Jana Wibawa project.
The bribes were allegedly obtained from three companies, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, as well as Datuk Azman Yusoff, for the party.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Office in Perdana Putra, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.
Muhyiddin was charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, which is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same act, and carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
He also faces three charges of receiving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu’s accounts at AmBank and CIMB Bank branches in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, and in Kuala Lumpur, between February 2021 and July 2022.
For these charges, he was charged under Section 4(1)(b) read together with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), which is punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act.
If convicted, he faces imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the proceeds of unlawful activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
Edited by Aniza Damis
