SHAH ALAM, Dec 8 — Padang Serai Member of Parliament, Datuk Azman Nasrudin, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court, here, today, to a charge of abetting in a RM400,000 corruption case involving the Kedah state-owned cattle farming joint-venture project, five years ago.

Azman made the plea after the charge was read out before Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin.

According to the charge, the father of five is accused of abetting a businessman, Amar Assuat Abu Bakar, 41, in accepting a RM400,000 bribe from Mohd Hassanaim Fauzi, 39.

The payment was allegedly given as a reward for assisting Mohd Hassanaim in securing a joint-venture beef cattle farming project at the Ladang Fidlot Kedah Agro, Mukim Sungai Laka, Kubang Pasu, Kedah, from Kedah Agro Holding Berhad (KAHB).

Azman is accused of directing the KAHB chief executive officer to issue a letter of offer to Mohd Hassanaim for the project.

The offence was allegedly committed on June 23, 2020, at about 5pm, on the roadside opposite the office of Angsa Emas Beaute Sdn Bhd, Section 9, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

The charge was framed under Section 28(1)(c) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, read together with Section 16(a)(A) of the same law, and is punishable under Section 24(1).

If convicted, he faces a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin and Asmaa’ Zamri, while the accused was represented by lawyers N. Surendran, Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid, Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif and Shahid Adli Kamarudin.

Earlier, Muaz Ahmad proposed bail of RM100,000, citing the accused’s position as a Member of Parliament (MP), and the need for his passport to be surrendered to the court for safekeeping.

Surendran, however, objected to what he described as an excessive bail amount and opposed the request for the passport to be surrendered. He argued that his 53-year-old client posed no flight risk, noting that as an MP he is required to attend parliamentary sessions, and he also has a wife and five children.

The court then set bail at RM75,000 in one local surety and ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the court. The case has been fixed for re-mention on January 17, 2026.

Surendran informed the court that the defence intends to file an application to strike out the charge before the re-mention date.

In a separate proceeding before the same court, Amar Assuat pleaded not guilty to two charges of soliciting and receiving a RM400,000 bribe from Mohd Hassanaim, to secure the same cattle farming project.

The offences were allegedly committed at a restaurant and on the roadside near a company in Section 9, Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat, on June 20 and 23, 2020. He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, which carries penalties under Section 24(1) of the same law.

Judge Mohd Nasir granted bail of RM75,000 in one surety, and imposed additional conditions, requiring the accused to report to the MACC monthly and surrender his passport to the court. The case has been fixed for mention on January 13, 2026. — Bernama