KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 27): Hot on the heels of former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's charge on Thursday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will press charges against former human resources minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan on Friday.
A check of the cause list, which shows scheduled court cases, indicates that Saravanan’s case will be heard before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi at 9am.
A source familiar with the case said the charge is related to alleged corruption involving foreign worker quotas.
The Tapah parliamentarian served as the human resources minister from 2020 to 2022.
In a widely circulated video message, Saravanan confirmed that he would be charged on Friday and said the person who initially implicated him had later made statutory declarations withdrawing the allegations. He said the individual died two months ago, questioning how a case could be built when the key link had passed away. Nevertheless, Saravanan said he is ready to face the charge and remains confident in the justice system.
Earlier on Thursday, fellow Barisan Nasional member Ismail Sabri was charged with failing to comply with a MACC notice dated Jan 7, 2025, by not declaring cash in various currencies, as well as gold and silver bars. The 66-year-old pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
The charge against Saravanan is the latest of the graft-busters' action against several high-profile scandals.
Thursday also saw the MACC get a seven-day remand against a former Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) chairman and a former Treasury secretary general. They also extended the remand order of a former TH chief executive officer by four days until Aug 31 to assist investigations into the alleged misappropriation of about RM190 million in TH investments and shares.
Prior to that, a top executive of the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) was among five arrested last week for alleged abuse of power in the sale of eight plots of land belonging to the agency, causing the government agency to lose about RM1.96 million.
Perda is a federal statutory agency under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, which is under Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s purview.