KUALA LUMPUR - Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Thursday his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia will be asking the country’s anti-graft agency to unfreeze its bank accounts.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) froze the party’s accounts a fortnight ago as the graft buster looked into an alleged misappropriation during the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief’s 18-month tenure.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin said the MACC is aware of the funds in Bersatu’s accounts, and he is confident that the party has proper financial records.
“It (the money) is from legitimate sources. Therefore, we will send a letter today to the MACC to request MACC to unfreeze Bersatu’s accounts,” he told the Malaysian media.
Mr Muhyiddin said that the suspension of the party’s accounts has affected its operations.
“If they want to freeze our accounts for three months, it will be hard. My officers will have no salaries, offices cannot be maintained and rents cannot be paid. It will affect party administration and also our role as an important party in the country.”
He said the party has fully cooperated with the MACC and hoped the agency will lift its suspension of Bersatu’s accounts if no wrongdoing is found.
“Bersatu needs the funds to campaign during state elections, which will be held soon.” he added.
He expressed hope that the frozen accounts are not a ploy by the current government to disrupt PN’s election machinery in the looming state polls.
“If this step is taken, it will affect our efforts in election activities as well as assistance to our friends in Perikatan,” said Mr Muhyiddin.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday dismissed claims that his administration is using the MACC as a political tool against Bersatu.
Datuk Seri Anwar said he had never directed the agency to act against Mr Muhyiddin’s party, pointing out that enforcement agencies remained independent under his administration.
“We did not ask for the MACC to act against Bersatu, nor any individuals. They are free to investigate. The only thing I appeal to them is for the agencies to be proactive and efficient and act fast if there are complaints and cases,” he said.
“This is because the thrust of this administration is good governance with an aim to rid the country of power abuse and corruption.”
Last December, MACC said it would look into an alleged misappropriation of RM600 billion (S$185 billion) of funds by the former administration led by Mr Muhyiddin’s PN coalition.
It said the focus remained on the RM92.5 billion spent as stimulus during the pandemic, as these initiatives were fast-tracked because of pressing needs during nationwide lockdowns.
Graft busters raided eight government agencies and nine companies last December, after investigations found they had received what a source told The Straits Times was a “huge allocation” from the stimulus packages approved by the government in 2020 and 2021.
On Jan 7, a close associate of Mr Muhyiddin was nabbed for his alleged role in brokering government projects in exchange for bribes.
The MACC’s probe has been expanded to all government expenditure across his tenure, and to the past two administrations.
Mr Muhyiddin was Malaysia’s prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021, before he was replaced by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, whose party is now a member of the unity government.
Early in December 2022, PM Anwar halted flood mitigation projects worth RM7 billion that had been approved that year under Datuk Seri Ismail.
He also ordered a review of Malaysia’s state-owned 5G network that is now being rolled out, saying its formulation lacked transparency. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
