KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Purported audio and video recordings of speeches by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were played in court on the first day of the former prime minister’s trial at the High Court today, where he faces seven charges of abuse of power and money laundering.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) assistant superintendent Mohd Syawaludin Said, 37, said the two recordings, dated January 16 and July 26 last year, contained Muhyiddin’s denial of receiving bribes or abusing his position.
He said Muhyiddin was heard saying that he did not personally receive any money, and that the funds were instead channelled into Bersatu’s account.
“The two recordings were uploaded by TikTok users @puterishantek and @wanhadi21. I was instructed by investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini to download the audio recording and capture screenshots of the video before saving them in a pendrive,” the first prosecution witness said during examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Nur Iman Wan Ahmad Afzal.
From the audio transcription uploaded by the account @puterishantek, Syawaludin said he heard a male voice saying: “The allegation against me is that I accepted bribes!”
He said the recording also contained a denial: “I did not accept it. Wallahi, not a single sen went into my pocket. It went to the party!”
Referring to the transcription from the @wanhadi21 account, Syawaludin said the statement included the line: “I want to say that I did not commit corruption. The charges I face are not because I took bribes. My party received the money. They accuse me of taking it.”
Iman: How did you confirm that the voice was Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s?
Syawaludin: I confirmed it because Tan Sri Muhyiddin served as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2020 to 2021, and I recognised the voice as his.
During cross-examination by Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Muhyiddin, the witness confirmed he did not investigate or trace the owners of the two TikTok accounts because there were no instructions from the investigating officer.
Amer: So, who inserted the captions, location and hashtags in the video?
Syawaludin: I am not sure.
The witness also acknowledged that he did not know the owners of the accounts @puterishantek and @wanhadi21.
When asked by Amer whether he had heard of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the witness replied yes.
Amer: If you did not verify its authenticity, would you know whether it (the video) was generated using AI?
Syawaludin: I would not know.
Muhyiddin, 78, who was prime minister and Bersatu president at the time of the alleged offences, faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes linked to the Jana Wibawa project.
The bribes were allegedly obtained from three companies, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, as well as Datuk Azman Yusoff for the party.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Office in Perdana Putra, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020 and August 20, 2021.
He is charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The Pagoh MP also faces three charges of receiving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu’s accounts at Ambank and CIMB Bank branches in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
For these charges, he was charged under Section 4(1)(b) read together with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years' imprisonment and a fine of at least five times the value of the proceeds of unlawful activities, or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues tomorrow.
