Muhyiddin: Court charges giving me sleepless nights

Photo: Bernama

PETALING JAYA: After being charged with abuse of power and money laundering, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin says he now has trouble sleeping at night.

The Perikatan Nasional chairman said the situation emerges whenever he reads news about his charges.

“It is difficult to sleep at night. My wife also finds it difficult to sleep and my children are also constantly worried.

“Reading news (about the charges) made things worse as I learnt that I would be jailed for over 20 years if found guilty,” he was quoted saying by a news portal on Sunday (March 12).

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president, reiterated his innocence by saying that he is a victim of political persecution.

On Friday (March 10), Muhyiddin was slapped with four counts of power abuse at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court involving a total of RM232.5mil in gratification.

The eighth Malaysian prime minister pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi here on Friday.

According to the first until fourth charge sheets, Muhyiddin, who was a public servant and the prime minister then and the Bersatu president, had abused his position for gratification from three entities and an individual for his ally, Bersatu.

He allegedly abused his position for gratification of RM200mil from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd; RM1mil from Nepturis Sdn Bhd; RM19.5mil from Mamfor Sdn Bhd and RM12mil from one Azman Yusoff.

All offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Office, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.

The charges are framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

If convicted, Muhyiddin faces imprisonment of up to 20 years, and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

He is also facing two counts of money laundering involving RM195mil.

For these charges, Muhyiddin is accused of receiving proceeds from illegal activities - RM120mil and RM75mil - from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which was deposited into Bersatu's account.