KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): An investigating officer of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) told the High Court on Wednesday that the RM25.3 million deposited by companies into Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia's (Bersatu) accounts between September 2021 and November 2022 constituted a form of gratification following the award of Jana Wibawa projects.

Testifying in former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s corruption trial, Mazery Md Zaini, who is currently a senior assistant commissioner of the MACC and was the investigating officer (IO) for the Jana Wibawa investigation, told the court that the payments made by the four entities, namely KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd and KCJ managing director Datuk Azman Yusoff, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Sutracom Sdn Bhd, and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, were timed to follow the awarding of the government's Jana Wibawa letters of acceptance and functioned as a reward/reciprocation (upah/balasan) in exchange for the administrative interventions that secured the contracts.

During the prosecution’s examination-in-chief, Mazery provided crucial details regarding how Azman transitioned from an initial suspect into a key prosecution witness.

Mazery explained that an official complaint filed on Jan 3, 2023 had originally named Azman as a suspect for allegedly soliciting bribes from companies seeking Jana Wibawa contracts. However, MACC investigation findings revealed that Azman’s financial contributions to Bersatu, which totalled RM4.8 million across multiple cheques, were made upon an alleged spontaneous request by Muhyiddin, who was the prime minister at the material time.

According to Mazery, as Azman was acting on the instructions of the top executive (Muhyiddin) rather than operating independently, anti-graft investigators opted not to remand or charge him, choosing instead to turn him into a prosecution witness to establish Muhyiddin's alleged abuse of power.

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin: In this case, did you investigate whether Datuk Azman committed any offences?

Mazery: Yes.

Wan Shahruddin: What offence did Datuk Azman commit in your investigation?

Mazery: Datuk Azman gave money to the Bersatu party.

Wan Shahruddin: Other than giving money to Bersatu?

Mazery: I also investigated why Azman gave the money to Bersatu.

Wan Shahruddin: Was Datuk Azman remanded or charged, or not? If not, why?

Mazery: Not remanded, not charged. Based on the investigation findings, it was found that Azman gave money to Bersatu when requested by the YAB PM at that time, namely Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, for the money to be deposited into the party's account.

Wan Shahruddin: Did you confirm what was stated in the complaint form against Azman, and what was the outcome?

Mazery: I did investigate this complaint and found that Azman solicited bribes from companies in return for helping those companies secure Jana Wibawa projects. The outcome of the investigation was that an abuse of power occurred by the PM at that time, where he helped by directing the minister of finance to handle matters regarding the companies' applications.

Wan Shahruddin: The outcome of the investigation against Azman?

Mazery: The outcome was that Datuk Azman was turned into a witness because the action taken by Azman was at the request of the YAB PM at that time.

Wan Shahruddin: Why did Tan Sri Muhyiddin abuse his power as the PM at that time?

Mazery: Because his action at that time directed the minister of finance to assist the applying companies, and subsequently the successful companies that received help made contributions.

Previously, Azman had confirmed that if his company had failed to secure the Jana Wibawa project, neither he nor his company would have made any financial contribution to Bersatu.

Mazery emphasised in his written witness statement that the monies received could not be categorised as standard political donations.

"The investigation revealed that the money deposited by these companies was not a political contribution, but rather a reward in return for the accused (Azman) assisting them in securing the projects," Mazery noted, pointing out that genuine political donations would typically be made regardless of tender outcomes, submitted prior to application letters, or issued in far smaller, reasonable amounts.

While acknowledging that Muhyiddin did not directly interfere with the final technical evaluation processes conducted by the Ministry of Finance or the Public Works Department, Mazery maintained that minutes written by Muhyiddin acted as critical administrative instructions before the assessment.

Muhyiddin, 79, faces seven charges in the trial — 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 as well as three companies — including Nepturis and Mamfor — allegedly for the benefit of Bersatu.

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

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