KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, the Member of Parliament for Tasek Gelugor, claimed on Wednesday that he had been pressured and threatened multiple times to support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in exchange for the dropping of graft charges against him.
During the debate on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat, Wan Saiful alleged that since he pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of money laundering amounting to RM5.59 million in October last year, he had been contacted numerous times via phone by unidentified individuals, after which he agreed to meet with them.
“The first meeting was on Jan 17, 2024, at the Westin Hotel in Bukit Bintang, then the next meeting changed to the JW Marriott hotel.
"The latest call I received was on Monday, the same day when the King of Malaysia opened Parliament. I had to meet them at Saujana Hotel Subang, out of fear that I didn't want to risk what might happen to me since they are in power," he said.
Wan Saiful added that one of the individuals who approached him during one encounter was a friend whom he did not want to name.
He explained that the modus operandi of these individuals was to ask him to meet in a closed-door room, and they did not use real names.
"I was told that I must support YB Tambun (Anwar) as the prime minister, and in return I would be rewarded with an allocation of RM1.7 million for my constituency....they even offered to drop my charges," Wan Saiful claimed.
However, Wan Saiful could not elaborate on the details of the allegation as the Dewan Rakyat descended into chaos, with government MPs challenging him to lodge a report with the authorities.
The speaker, Tan Sri Johari Abdul, had to intervene and stop Wan Saiful from citing hearsay sources in the sitting.
In October 2023, Wan Saiful allegedly received RM6.96 million into an account of WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, where he is a director, and allegedly solicited RM232 million over the Central Spine Road project from the federal government.
The charges of money laundering are related to the graft he allegedly received, with Wan Saiful alleged to have committed money laundering between Aug 12 and Nov 7, 2022, using funds from WSA Advisory.
Wan Saiful has claimed trial to 18 counts of money laundering.
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