Johor mayor arrested over alleged kickbacks from contractors

JOHOR BARU • The mayor of Johor Baru has been arrested for allegedly taking bribes from contractors as an inducement to approve construction projects.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) director Azmi Alias confirmed that Adib Azhari Daud was arrested at the Johor MACC office at about 3pm on Tuesday.

Adib was taken to the magistrate's court in Johor Baru yesterday morning for a remand application, which was granted for three days until tomorrow, for the mayor to assist in investigations.

Investigations showed that Adib, who is just weeks away from retirement, allegedly accepted money from contractors to approve projects while he was mayor of the Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP), overseeing Johor's urban development.

The 60-year-old was the MBIP mayor from Nov 22, 2017, to Nov 16, 2019, before he was appointed as the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) mayor on Nov 17, 2019.

Before the MBIP was upgraded to a city council, he was the president of the Johor Baru Central Municipal Council (MBIP's previous name) from Jan 17, 2017.

The case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.

If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribes, or RM10,000 (S$3,200), whichever is higher.

When contacted, Johor's state housing committee chairman Ayub Jamil declined to comment on the arrest.

This is the first time in Johor that a sitting mayor has been arrested for alleged bribery.

Earlier on Sunday, Johor's MACC had arrested the owner of a construction company and an Iskandar Puteri City Council engineer for allegedly submitting false documents in their dealings with MBIP.

The two are believed to have obtained approval for construction work in MBIP's jurisdiction from 2018 until last year. The case is believed to be linked to the Johor mayor.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK