Earlier today, businessman Sim Choo Thiam was charged with demanding RM15 million from another businessman, Hep Kim Hong, some time in June 2021.
The prosecution said the sum was meant as an inducement for Hamzah to assist Hep’s company, Asia Coding Sdn Bhd, to secure projects from his ministry.
Sim was also slapped with three other charges of receiving RM15 million to secure projects from the home ministry. He pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
In a statement, Hamzah said it seemed “certain people and businessmen” were pressured into “pointing their finger” at him.
“I wonder why my name is being mentioned when I have nothing to do with this,” said Hamzah.
“The four charges say that bribes were paid to ‘get home ministry projects’. What are these projects?
“It is clear that these accusations have been deliberately fabricated in such a way as to drag my name into matters that do not directly involve me.”
The Perikatan Nasional secretary-general said it was “peculiar” that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers only recorded his statement this evening, after the charges were brought against Sim.
Hamzah said the charges that implicated him were meant to discredit PN and Bersatu, adding that deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi previously talked about a “court cluster” involving PN and Bersatu leaders.
“I believe this is because they are worried about PN’s strength,” said Hamzah.
Hamzah is the latest PN leader to be implicated in a corruption scandal after the coalition’s chairman, Muhyiddin Yassin, was charged with several counts of abuse of power and money laundering linked to the Jana Wibawa programme initiated by the former prime minister’s administration.
Bersatu’s Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad were also charged with accepting bribes in relation to Jana Wibawa.
The Jana Wibawa programme was introduced in November 2020 by the Muhyiddin-led government as a Covid-19 stimulus initiative to help Bumiputera contractors.
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