KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 8): A former prime minister and individuals who served as his aides during his tenure are among “no less than four individuals” to be called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in relation to investigations into RM700 million government publicity spending in 2020-2022.
Chief commissioner of the anti-graft agency Tan Sri Azam Baki told reporters that the ex-prime minister will be called in “very soon”, sometime between this week and the next, but did not specify the individual, according to reports.
Malaysia saw three prime ministers in the period, namely Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who served from May 2018 up until February 2020, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from February 2020 to August 2021, and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to November 2022.
The investigation will be more on how government funds were spent, and which companies received the funding, Azam reportedly said after attending the 2024 National Good Governance Symposium in Sepang.
Only one ex-prime minister will be called in to assist with the investigation for now, Azam said. The MACC has also called in the companies, according to him.
The MACC started investigations into the RM700 million spending last week, following a statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the matter in the Dewan Rakyat in November last year.
At the time, Anwar said RM500 million was earmarked during Muhyiddin’s tenure, while the balance RM200 million was utilised during Ismail Sabri’s time.
“This means that, on average, over RM300 million per year was expended on advertising, promotion and publicity to publicise the government’s efforts. I personally believe this breached rules and regulations, showing excessive spending,” Anwar said at the time.