Managing director, lawyer remanded over Sarawak schools solar panel project

PUTRAJAYA: A 59-year-old company managing director and a 30-year-old lawyer have been remanded in connection with the solar panel project for schools in Sarawak.

The duo will be under the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for six days until July 2.

Magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim granted the prosecutors' application to have the two men remanded to help with the investigation.

The two were arrested on Tuesday (June 26) at the MACC headquarters here when they were called in to record their statements.

The Star reported that Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd was granted over RM1bil worth of projects to install solar panels in 369 schools in Sarawak.

According to Sarawak Report, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had purportedly instructed the Education Ministry in January 2017 to appoint a company for a solar hybrid project for 369 schools in the rural heartlands of Sarawak.

The report pointed out that several companies were qualified to install solar power in Malaysia but were said to have been dropped from consideration in favour of a politically-connected company that lacked any track record in the field.