Kuala lumpur: Former Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told the High Court today that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had issued a letter proposing the appointment of 54 contractors to implement 54 projects under the Jana Wibawa programme through direct negotiation.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Tengku Zafrul, 53, said the letter, titled 'Cadangan Pelantikan 54 Kontraktor Pelaksana Bagi Pelaksanaan 54 Projek Di Bawah Program Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa (Jana Wibawa) Secara Rundingan Terus (Reka and Bina)', was dated Nov 13, 2020, the same day the Cabinet memorandum on the Government Procurement Action Plan was tabled at a Cabinet meeting.
Tengku Zafrul confirmed that the date of the letter coincided with the Cabinet meeting at which the Cabinet memorandum on the Government Procurement Action Plan was presented. He stated this while reading his witness statement during the trial of Muhyiddin, who faces seven charges of abuse of power and money laundering.
The 11th prosecution witness confirmed that the letter was issued by Muhyiddin, who was then Prime Minister, as it bore his signature on the third page and contained instructions for the Finance Ministry to urgently consider the proposal. Tengku Zafrul recognized the signature as Muhyiddin's, having previously received official documents from him. Without the letter dated Nov 13, he asserted he would not have taken further action.
Tengku Zafrul described the letter as a proposal by Muhyiddin for the appointment of 54 companies through direct negotiation to implement pre-determined projects. He explained that direct negotiation meant awarding projects directly to the listed companies without a tender process or competitive bidding among other contractors.
He was unaware of how the Prime Minister's Office assessed the companies or selected the projects for each company. He confirmed the companies listed were provided by the PMO and not by him or the Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, he was not aware of any links or interests the companies might have had with Muhyiddin, as this information had never been disclosed to him.
Tengku Zafrul stated that Muhyiddin never informed him that he and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) would receive donations from the companies listed. He confirmed he had not received any donations from the 54 companies and had no knowledge of whether those companies had ever made donations to any political party. He emphasized that he had not derived any personal financial benefit from the Jana Wibawa programme during his tenure as Finance Minister from March 2020 to August 2021.
In response to a question from Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin regarding whether a prime minister had the authority to appoint any company to carry out government projects, Tengku Zafrul replied in the negative.
Muhyiddin, 78, who was then Prime Minister and Bersatu president, was charged with four counts of abuse of power for allegedly soliciting RM232.5 million in bribes for the political party from several companies in connection with the Jana Wibawa project. He was accused of committing the offence at the Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra, Putrajaya between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021 under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009.
The Pagoh MP also faces three charges of receiving RM200 million in unlawful proceeds from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu's bank accounts, allegedly committed between February 2021 and July 2022. These charges were brought under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. The trial is before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin.