Johor housing committee chairman held over alleged RM1.6mil bribery, power abuse

A Johor housing committee chairman has been detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over allegations of bribery and abuse of power involving around RM1.6 million in payments from 400 applicants for government housing lots. The man, in his 40s, was detained at the Johor MACC office on the evening of the 30th. Preliminary investigations revealed that the alleged offences occurred between 2016 and 2025, with the man allegedly soliciting about RM4,000 from each applicant.

The total amount involved was approximately RM1.6 million, which he is accused of misappropriating for personal use through fraudulent withdrawals from the committee's bank account using fake invoices. The case is being investigated under sections 16(a)(A), 18, and 23 of the MACC Act 2009, with penalties including up to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of at least five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Brief written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.