KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will have all of his Jana Wibawa charges tried in one court instead of two separate courts.

Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi, in her decision on Thursday, allowed the prosecution’s application to have Muhyiddin’s seven criminal charges — four counts of abuse of power and three counts of money laundering — to be heard in one Sessions Court.

When Muhyiddin was charged in 2023, he was charged in two separate Sessions Courts at that time. The prosecution had made a bid for all the charges to be consolidated before one court and one judge, but Muhyiddin’s defence team was against it.

However, Azura on Thursday found in favour of the prosecution’s application by saying that the court was satisfied with the need for the combined cases as it is stipulated in Section 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

She said that because the charges are interconnected, as the charges stem from the same transactions, therefore it is right that the cases be tried together.

“It reads as one series of acts, so they are connected together as to form the same transaction committed by the same person. The criteria is therefore fulfilled to enable cases to be combined and tried together,” Azura said, adding that this would save time for all parties, as both sets of charges may involve the same witnesses and facts.

In addressing the concern of Muhyiddin’s defence team about confusion that may occur when putting in his defence, Azura said there was no prejudice or confusion against Muhyiddin if the time comes for him to enter his defence.

“The charges clearly state that he is the accused. The prosecution had, in the last proceedings, stated that it is trite law that it is the prosecution that needs to prove each ingredient of the charges.

“And it is the court’s duty to decide whether each ingredient in the charges, as charged, has been proven against the accused.

“So, there is no issue of confusion in the accused putting in his defence, and he can still do so,” the judge said.

At Thursday’s proceedings, the prosecution was represented by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, while lawyers Datuk Seri K Kumaraendran and Amer Hamzah Arshad acted for Muhyiddin.

Amer then informed Azura that Muhyiddin wished to withdraw his application to strike out his money-laundering charges as it has now become academic.

The court then fixed Feb 18 for the next case mention where the defence and prosecution will finalise the start date of the trial. Wan Shaharuddin informed the court that the prosecution has 30 witnesses to call in this trial.

Muhyiddin, 77, as the president of Bersatu and the then-prime minister, was charged with allegedly using his position to obtain RM232.5 million in bribes from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, and a person by the name of Datuk Azman Yusoff, for the benefit of his political party.

He was charged with committing the offence at the Prime Minister’s Office at Bangunan Perdana Putra, at the Federal Government Administration Centre in Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020, and August 20, 2021.

The Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional chairman also faces two charges of allegedly receiving money from illegal activities, amounting to RM195 million from Bukhary Equity, which was deposited into Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account.

The offence was allegedly committed at the CIMB Bank Menara KL branch at Jalan Stesen Sentral, between Feb 25 and July 16, 2021, and between Feb 8 and July 8, 2022.

Muhyiddin was also charged in the Sessions Court in Shah Alam on March 13, 2023, with allegedly receiving money from illegal activities amounting to RM5 million, and the case was transferred to the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur to be tried together.

This makes up the seven charges against him.