KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Former human resources minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan said that the charges levelled against him in court on Friday morning were not just baseless, but were "wild allegations".
Expressing shock, he cautioned his adversaries that the court charges were "not the way to bring him down" but challenged them to put forth the best candidate in Tapah — the parliamentary constituency in Perak he currently serves — to battle it out on the ground.
"I was shocked, truly shocked. This is not a baseless allegation; I consider it a wild accusation against me. As for the facts, I don’t want to touch on them because we will discuss them in court later.
"This is not the way, if you want to bring me down. Send the best candidate to Tapah to contest against me. Don’t use tactics like this to topple a politician.
"I have a family, too, and I feel absolutely no shame, none at all…I feel absolutely no shame about this accusation, because when the facts come out later, you will be the one embarrassed! The people will know how you accused me with false information," he said without specifically saying who is the "you" he was referring to.
"Just be patient, the facts will come out soon," he said, adding, "Today, I cannot mention the facts. When this case is heard in court, the facts will come out. The people will laugh at you, seeing how you have a political vendetta against those who don’t support you. When the time comes, you will know. And today, the whole of Malaysia knows what kind of accusation this is".
MIC deputy president denies seeking help from Anwar
Saravanan also denied seeking help from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to "cover him", insisting that he had been in communication with Anwar merely to explain his side of the case and to press that they were wild allegations.
He also added that he wants the case to be dealt with expeditiously and that he is ready to prove his case.
Earlier on Friday, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) deputy president was charged with allegedly receiving over RM1 million in bribes for approving foreign worker quotas for a local company back in 2022.
Specifically, he faces three charges of receiving monies from a Tan Teck Lim, a director of Vectica Resources Sdn Bhd, as an incentive to approve the quota of 1,000 foreign workers for TYKB Engineering Sdn Bhd.
All three charges allege that the monies were received through a Syed Amirul Syed Ahmad in the form of cash and a cheque. Saravanan is accused of committing the offence from June 2022 to July 2022 while he still headed the Human Resources Ministry.
Saravanan has pleaded not guilty and has claimed trial to all charges.
Speaking to the press, Saravanan said that he did not know the person in the charge, save for Syed Amirul. However, he stressed that he had no personal relationship or connection with Syed Amirul.
Also present was his defence counsel Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent, who said that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) main witness, Syed Amirul, has passed away. He added that Syed Amirul had also made statutory declarations previously, denying Saravanan's involvement in any deals. Geethan said that they will be challenging this by putting forth evidence during the trial.
Saravanan had previously said the same in a video released on Thursday confirming news of his charging.
All three charges levelled against him on Friday were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009, which is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
If found guilty, Saravanan faces a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the gratification amount or RM10,000, whichever is the higher.
Earlier on Friday, about 100 people showed up at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex to show their support for the MIC leader.