KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today raised doubt over Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's claim that he could not have taken RM1.3 million in bribes in 2018 as alleged in court yesterday.
Muhyiddin, in a statement yesterday, said he had never received monies from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB), and that he was incapable of taking the alleged bribes as he was undergoing cancer treatment at the time.
Najib this morning posted several news report links to establish a timeline of events after a witness of Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed that he had given RM1.3 million kickbacks to Muhyiddin who was the Home Minister at that time on June 4, July 4 and August 23, 2018.
For the first payment on June 4, Najib pointed out that Muhyiddin was working and had a visit to Bukit Aman on that day while for the second payment n July 4, he alleged that the latter has yet to undergo surgery as it was news of his hospital admission was only reported on July 12, 2018.
He then cited another news report of Muhyiddin being discharged from hospital and being sworn in as Pagoh MP on August 7 and August 14 that year respectively.
Muhyiddin was alleged to have received payment on August 23, 2018, which Najib said was after he had the surgery.
“Is it true?” Najib posted on his Facebook page.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin was named in court as among the recipients of financial contributions given by Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB), a local company implicated in the corruption trial of Ahmad Zahid over the award of a foreign visa system (VLN) contract.
The Bersatu president's name came up when the defence questioned former UKSB administrative manager David Tan Siong Sun, who also testified that Muhyiddin received a total of RM1.3 million in 2018.
Tan affirmed the entries he had made in a ledger file titled “HL PE” which he owned for bookkeeping purposes on cash payments made by UKSB to various politicians, government staff and Ahmad Zahid himself when cross-examined by defence lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal.
However, Muhyiddin denied the matter on the same day saying it was impossible for him to personally take the money as he was undergoing surgery for his cancer at a hospital overseas and had taken a leave of absence from official duties as home minister.
