Witness tells court he handed RM350,000 in cash to Hamzah Zainudin’s former aide over PDRM tender

On October 8, a witness testified in Sessions Court that he handed RM350,000 in cash to Sayed Amir Muzzakkir Al Sayed Mohamad, who was a former political secretary to former Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin. The payments were made at the Yayasan Tanah Aku office in Publika in 2020. The witness, Wan Azhar Mohamed Yusof, 51, revealed that he gave Sayed Amir RM100,000 on December 4, 2020, and RM250,000 on December 16, 2020.

Both transactions were carried out in paper bags, with no other individuals present. Sayed Amir had reportedly requested the payment of RM350,000, stating, "Can you pay 350k? I need the money, in cash." The RM350,000 constituted a 5% commission for assistance provided to Nexuscorpgroup Sdn Bhd (NSB) in obtaining a PDRM project tender worth RM381.11 million.

Wan Azhar had referred to the 5% as a commission instead of an "advisory fee" based on discussions with Mohd Khairi Mat Jahya, the managing director of Al Khairi Group Bhd, prior to the signing of the "Project Advisory Agreement" between MKM Solutions Sdn Bhd and NSB. On September 29, Wan Azhar refuted a defense lawyer's claim that he altered the term "advisory fee" to "commission" in his witness statement to connect the case involving Sayed Amir to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

Sayed Amir Muzzakkir, 44, was charged on two counts of receiving RM350,000 in gratification from Wan Azhar for assisting NSB secure the PDRM tender valued at RM381,112,042.44 on May 23, 2024. The charges were under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, with a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of RM10,000 or five times the gratification, whichever is greater. The trial is set to resume on November 11.