Muhyiddin won’t tolerate insinuations

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has vowed to take legal action against those who insinuate that he is corrupt.

He maintained that he did not take any money from the Covid-19 vaccine procurement.

“My lawyer is looking at taking legal action (against those who make baseless allegations), and we will not stop at that alone,” said Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu chairman.

Bersatu’s accounts were recently frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in its investigation into allegations that the party had received funds from contractors chosen under the Jana Wibawa programme during Muhyiddin’s tenure as prime minister.

On Feb 16, Muhyiddin was called in by MACC for questioning following accusations made against him about Jana Wibawa, a programme by the Finance Ministry to help bumiputra contractors affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to reporters yesterday after launching a blood donation campaign as the chairman of the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Charity Golf Foundation, Muhyiddin said:

“I informed the MACC that I am not guilty, and they seemed satisfied; I hope these matters are not raised again.”

Muhyiddin said the questions raised about the vaccine procurement were another attempt to defame him.

“The Public Accounts Committee had looked into the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccines, but now there are some who intend to prod further and try to connect my name to bribery.

“I did not take even a sen,” he said.

He maintained that he had never abused his power throughout his 50 years in government.

“I hold on to the law, and I have my principles.”

As the Perikatan Nasional chairman, he said: “I know these are political ploys so that the people would be angry and think of me as a thief, a liar, and that I had abused my authority.”

Those who donated to Bersatu’s fund were people who had supported the party’s political struggle and believed in what Perikatan stood for, he said.

It had nothing to do with Jana Wibawa, he added.

“I do not know why all these accusations are being thrown at me now. Perhaps it’s because we will be facing six state elections, so that I can be seen as the bad guy and they (the ruling parties) can win,” he claimed.

He also said that he did not know the names of the companies involved in the Jana Wibawa programme.

The MACC, he said, had confirmed that he is not a suspect in the ongoing investigations.

Muhyiddin also said that the MACC investigating officer did not ask any questions on the alleged billions said to have been accumulated during his tenure as prime minister.

“I explained to MACC that I have all the papers to prove what went on.”

He also said that the Jana Wibawa programme was the brainchild of former finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the most affected were the bumiputra contractors, who, if we did not assist, would have folded up.”

He said that during the questioning by MACC on Feb 16, he had asked if he was a suspect.

“I asked (the investigating MACC officer) if I was a suspect and if I would be charged.

“The MACC officer informed me that I was not a suspect but was called in merely to give explanations.

“There were no questions by the MACC investigating officer over the so-called RM600bil and RM450bil which ‘they’ alleged I had swindled. It was only focused on Jana Wibawa.”

On Feb 15, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated that the Finance Ministry had halted some RM5.7bil worth of projects under the Jana Wibawa programme until the procurement and expenditure procedures set by the Treasury were being followed.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, explained that the Finance Ministry had ordered the temporary halt as some had been done through direct awards.