By Ho Kit Yen | Free Malaysia Today
Former Tabung Haji (TH) chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim claimed trial in the sessions court here today to a charge of abusing his position to obtain gratification in the form of a chairmanship and perks at another company.
Azeez, 60, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before judge Azura Alwi.
He is accused of abusing his position as TH chairman by instructing its then CEO, Ismee Ismail, to propose him as the fund’s representative on the board of Putrajaya Perdana.
The position allegedly came with an annual remuneration of RM690,000 and the use of a BMW 7 Series car.
Azeez is also accused of influencing TH’s board of directors to approve an investment of up to RM193.5 million in Putrajaya Perdana, in which he allegedly had an interest.
The offence allegedly took place at TH’s office on Aug 25, 2014.
The charge was framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
If found guilty, Azeez could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined not less than five times the amount or value of the gratification that was the subject matter of the offence, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The court granted Azeez bail of RM450,000 with two sureties and ordered him to report to the MACC office here once every three months.
It also fixed Nov 11 for case management.
Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad represented Azeez while deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Akram Gharib and Law Chin How appeared for the prosecution.
During mitigation, the prosecution did not object to bail but sought a sum of RM1 million with two sureties.
Amer said the amount was excessive, and that his client “knew the charge was coming” when he was arrested last month.
“He (Azeez) could have absconded if he intended to do so. Instead, he called us (lawyers) to defend him,” he said.
Prior to today’s proceedings, Azeez was brought before a magistrate for a remand application in connection with MACC’s investigation into TH.
