KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — The director of KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd has denied abusing the name of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to convince contractors who applied for projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.
Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff, 54, who is also the Malaysian Bumiputera Contractors Association's (PKBM) president, said this during cross-examination by lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik at the trial of Muhyiddin, who is facing seven charges of abuse of power and money laundering.
The 27th prosecution witness disagreed with Hisyam's suggestion that the more contractors he encouraged to apply for projects under the Jana Wibawa programme, the more money KCJ Engineering and Addeen Engineering Sdn Bhd would receive.
He added that Addeen Engineering is owned by his brother-in-law, and admitted having an interest in the company.
Azman also admitted that KCJ Engineering had received RM1 million from Nepturis Sdn Bhd.
At a previous proceeding, Nepturis Sdn Bhd founder Lian Tan Chuan (TC Lian) said he had given the RM1 million contribution because Nepturis had secured a RM141 million construction project for the Klang Utara district police headquarters in Selangor.
When Hisyam asked whether Azman knew Lian gave the RM1 million contribution because he (Azman) was PKBM's president, he said he did not know.
The witness also disagreed with the lawyer’s suggestion that he had been given preferential treatment during the investigation into the Jana Wibawa case.
“I cooperated with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) during the investigation into the case,” Azman said.
He also disagreed with Hisyam’s suggestion that if he had not cooperated with the MACC and become a prosecution witness, he would have been charged under the MACC Act.
Hisyam: Was your motive for appearing in court as an MACC witness for the prosecution to save yourself from being charged?
Azman: I am not sure.
However, when Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin questioned him again, the witness agreed that his motive for appearing in court to give evidence was to avoid being charged.
Muhyiddin, 79, who was the prime minister and Bersatu president at the time of the incident, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes, totalling RM225.3 million, for the party from four companies: Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, and KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd, as well as Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff, in relation to the Jana Wibawa project.
He is charged with committing the offence at the Prime Minister’s Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra, in Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020, and August 20, 2021, under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009. The provision carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The Pagoh MP also faces three counts of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities, totalling RM200 million, from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu’s AmBank and CIMB Bank accounts in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b), read with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment and a fine of five times the value of the proceeds of unlawful activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The trial resumes on September 1.
