Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin Detained, Will Be Charged with a Number of Charges Related to Corruption and Money Laundering

Muhyiddin Yassin. (Twitter/@Muhyiddin Yassin)

JAKARTA - Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Thursday, and will face a number of charges.

In a statement, MACC said Muhyiddin was detained at 1.00 p.m. at their headquarters, having previously been summoned to testify in connection with the investigation into the Jana Wibawa program.

MACC said they had received approval from the Attorney General's Office to charge Muhyiddin at the Kuala Lumpur Courthouse on Friday, as reported by CNA on March 9.

It was further explained that the President of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will be charged with several corruption and money laundering charges.

The Jana Wibawa program is an economic driving project during the implementation of Malaysia's COVID-19 restrictions. It was a stimulus aid package meant to help Bumiputera contractors.

MACC has been investigating allegations that contractors selected for the assistance program deposited 300 million Malaysian Ringgit (USD 67.69 million) into Bersatu's account.

Previously, speculation was rife earlier this week that Muhyiddin would be arrested by the authorities over the stimulus assistance program.

This happened after two Bersatu members were also involved in the Jana Wibawa case, namely House of Representatives (DPR) member Tasek Gelugor Wan Saiful Wan Jan and businessman and deputy head of the Segambut Bersatu division Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad.

Bersatu treasurer Mohd Salleh Bajuri was also previously detained by MACC, after carrying out an investigation into the party's bank account.

Last month, Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was summoned by MACC, to assist in investigating the Jana Wibawa program.

On Wednesday night, Muhyiddin said he was summoned to the agency at 11am on Thursday.

In a Facebook post, he denied claims he had been arrested by the authorities, after a Malaysian news portal reported he was arrested while on a golf course.

Calls for an official inquiry into stimulus spending during the pandemic came about because of the perception that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition had run a well-funded election campaign ahead of the 15th general election on November 19 last year.

It is known that the investigation into Jana Wibawa began after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in his capacity as Minister of Finance found that high-budget projects such as Jana Wibawa did not go through the tender process.