Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has failed in his bid to have four charges of abuse of power involving RM232.5 million in bribes and three money laundering (AMLA) charges amounting to RM200 million dropped.
As a result, the high-profile case involving the former Prime Minister will proceed to trial, with the prosecution expected to call 30 witnesses to testify.
This comes after the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) rejected the representation filed by Muhyiddin’s legal team, led by lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, to drop all seven charges on August 19.
During the case mention today, Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin informed the High Court that the AGC had rejected the representation on August 22.
Meanwhile, defence lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad said the defence had received the witness list but required witness statements to prepare their case.
Wan Shaharuddin said the prosecution needed a trial date to compile and hand over all relevant documents to the defence team.
High Court Judge K Muniandy then set November 10 for the next case mention before fixing the official trial dates. Muhyiddin’s attendance will be excused for that mention.
Earlier, on August 15 last year, the High Court had struck out the four abuse of power charges against Muhyiddin, ruling them vague and baseless. However, on February 28 this year, the Court of Appeal reinstated the charges and ordered the case to return to the Sessions Court for further proceedings.
On April 4, Muhyiddin applied to transfer the case to the High Court, citing complex legal issues and public interest, arguing that the trial would be more appropriate and fair at that level.
Four of the charges allege that Muhyiddin, while serving as Prime Minister and President of Bersatu, abused his position to obtain RM232.5 million in bribes from an individual and three companies.
The remaining three charges involve money laundering, accusing him of receiving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities through Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, deposited into his party’s account.
On June 16, Sessions Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin approved Muhyiddin’s request to transfer the case to the High Court.
