KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26): A construction firm director has told the High Court on Wednesday that former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had made a spontaneous remark for political donations to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) during a private one-on-one meeting after a charity golf tournament in July 2020.

Datuk Azman Yusoff, the managing director of KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd and president of the Bumiputera Contractors Association (PKBM), testified that this interaction led to his company securing a RM62 million government road project under the Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa (Jana Wibawa) scheme, after which he paid RM4.8 million in "political donations" to Bersatu.

Azman, a key prosecution witness, admitted during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin that while he knew giving contributions tied to government awards was wrong, he felt compelled to comply as a businessman to ensure business continuity.

Azman testified that he participated in the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Charity Golf tournament held at the Tropicana Golf & Country Resort in Damansara, Selangor, around July 2020. Following the conclusion of the tournament, he had a private one-on-one meeting with Muhyiddin, who was the prime minister at the time, in a room at the golf club around 3.00pm.

Azman said that during that private conversation, Muhyiddin had made a spontaneous remark regarding political donations. According to Azman's written witness statement, Muhyiddin had stated that if any PKBM member or contractor wished to make donations, the contributions were to be made directly to Bersatu rather than to any individual, and asked Azman to coordinate with Bersatu treasurer general Datuk Salleh Bajuri.

Azman explained that his primary objective was to inquire about government procurement opportunities available for PKBM members under the Jana Wibawa programme. During this conversation, Muhyiddin had informed him that the Cabinet had approved the Jana Wibawa programme, which was designed to expedite national economic recovery and assist Class G7 Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Bumiputera contractors through direct-negotiation awards.

Azman said Muhyiddin had directed him to liaise directly with Muhyiddin’s deputy senior private secretary, Asmar Asmadi Abdullah Sani, to ask about projects under Jana Wibawa.

During examination-in-chief, DPP Wan Shaharuddin questioned Azman on his motivations and whether his testimony was driven by bad intentions. This led to key admissions regarding the payments and Azman's compliance with the then-prime minister's directive. Azman testified that he had assumed that Muhyiddin expected companies awarded Jana Wibawa projects to contribute to Bersatu, as Muhyiddin had brought up political contributions earlier in their conversation.

Wan Shaharuddin: In this case, you said you are indebted to Tan Sri Muhyiddin. My question is, do you, or do you not, have any bad intentions in giving evidence in this case?

Azman: I have no malicious intent whatsoever. In fact, I am thankful and indebted to Tan Sri Muhyiddin for helping contractors during Covid-19, when no work could be carried out, no projects could be done, no site visits, and so forth. So [this donation is] to express my gratitude to Tan Sri Muhyiddin for helping Bumiputera contractors during Covid-19.

Wan Shaharuddin: In your written statement, you stated that the conveyance from Tan Sri regarding donations for Bersatu was spontaneous. Did you know that such a conveyance was wrong?

Azman: Yes, I admit it was wrong, but I am a businessman, and I had to comply with the prime minister at that time for the continuity of my business as well as my colleagues’ due to the pandemic. And Alhamdulillah, with the help of Tan Sri Muhyiddin, we were awarded the project. With that, I complied with the payment that was informed by Tan Sri Muhyiddin to make a contribution to the Bersatu. He informed me spontaneously, as well as to other contractors.

Following the golf resort meeting, Azman said he met with Asmar Asmadi at the prime minister’s office in Parliament, where he was shown a list of approximately 10 government projects that had been approved under Jana Wibawa. Azman selected a project to construct a new road connecting Felda Bukit Jalor to Gemas in Negeri Sembilan, valued at RM62 million.

On Sept 21, 2020, KCJ Engineering submitted a formal letter requesting Muhyiddin's support to execute the project via direct negotiation. Armed with the prime minister's minute and support, the Public Works Department subsequently issued a letter of intent on March 23, 2021, culminating in the formal letter of acceptance awarded to KCJ Engineering on July 30, 2021.

According to court documents and his witness statement, Azman paid a total of RM4.8 million to Bersatu via eight separate cheques delivered personally to Salleh.  

Azman testified that the RM4.8 million sum represented approximately 7% to 8% of the total project value, calculated based on his experience in the construction industry on the expected 15% to 20% profit margin typical for government road construction projects.

Furthermore, he admitted that had KCJ Engineering failed to secure the Jana Wibawa project, neither he nor his company would have made any financial contributions to Bersatu.

It should be noted that KCJ Engineering had initially been rejected due to unsatisfactory work performance and a record of "sick" (delayed/failing) projects, before being re-evaluated on the Prime Minister’s Office's instructions.

In this trial, Muhyiddin, 79, faces seven charges — four counts of abuse of power involving RM225.3 million in alleged gratification, and three counts of money laundering involving RM200 million. He is accused of receiving bribes from Azman and three companies — including Nepturis and Mamfor Sdn Bhd — allegedly for the benefit of his political party, Bersatu.

The trial continues before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin on Thursday.