KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed July 11 to hear former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s application to strike out the four counts of abuse of power he has been charged with.
Justice Jamil Hussin fixed the date after case management today attended by the prosecution and Muhyiddin’s lawyers.
Present were deputy public prosecutors Wan Shahruddin Wan Ladin and Ahmad Akram Gharib, and defence counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, K Kumaraendran and Amer Hamzah Arshad.
The judge also directed both parties to file their written submissions at least two weeks before the hearing date.
On April 19, the Bersatu chairman filed the application seeking that the court annul the charges and acquit him.
He also wants all proceedings in the sessions court, where he has been charged, stayed pending the outcome of the striking out application.
In the application, Muhyiddin said the charges did not disclose any offence under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
He said the charges were also an abuse of process and lacking in particulars as to how he abused his power as prime minister between March 2020 and August 2021.
The charges were in relation to the Jana Wibawa programme and alleged that he had sought to obtain RM232.5 million for Bersatu.
On March 10, Muhyiddin pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to him in the sessions court here before judge Azura Alwi.
Muhyiddin, who is also the Perikatan Nasional chairman, is alleged to have committed the four abuse of power offences at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between Feb 8 and Aug 20, 2021.
On the first count, he is said to have used his office to obtain a RM200,000 bribe from a company for his party.
On the second count, he is alleged to have received RM1 million for his party from Nepturis Sdn Bhd.
For the third charge, he is said to have received RM19.5 million from Mamfor Sdn Bhd.
He is also accused of accepting RM12 million from businessman Azman Yusoff.
The Jana Wibawa programme was introduced in November 2020 as a Covid-19 stimulus initiative to help Bumiputera contractors.