PMO, Muhyiddin tak campur tangan projek IPD, mahkamah diberitahu

Former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is facing seven charges related to the Jana Wibawa program, an initiative launched by the government during the Covid-19 pandemic to aid Bumiputra contractors. According to a former JKR Selangor director, Lokman Nasir, the Prime Minister's Office, or even the then-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, did not interfere with the construction of the Klang Utara IPD project.

Lokman is a project overseer responsible for ensuring the project was completed according to the set costs, quality, and timeline, and was not involved in selecting or assessing contractors. When questioned by Muhyiddin's lawyer Chetan Jethwani about evaluating or selecting contractors, Lokman stated that he was not involved in these tasks.

Chetan also asked Lokman if there was any interference from the Prime Minister's Office during the project's review, to which Lokman replied, "No." He had previously testified that he met past Bersatu Segambut deputy chairman Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad, a close golfing friend of Muhyiddin, to secure the IPD project for Nepturis, one of his other construction companies.

Nepturis is managed by his business associate, Rizman Akum Khan and Aliza Malek. Muhyiddin, 79, is accused of seven charges related to the Jana Wibawa program, a government initiative introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to help Bumiputra contractors. He is charged with four counts of misusing his position to solicit a RM225.3 million bribe from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor, and businessman Azman Yusoff, as well as three counts of converting illegal money involving RM200 million allegedly received from Bukhary Equity and deposited in Bersatu accounts at AmBank and CIMB Bank.

Defense Counsel Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin and Nur Iman Wan Ahmad Afzal represented the prosecution in court today, and the proceedings will continue tomorrow.