Muhyiddin is charged with sedition, punishable by up to three years in prison. During the hearing in a court in the northeastern state of Kelantan, he declared his innocence.
Malaysian justice on Tuesday charged opposition leader Muhyiddin Yassin with sedition, punishable by up to three years in prison, for criticizing Sultan Abdullah Ahmad, the country’s monarch until January.
Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh, representing the 75-year-old former prime minister, said Muhyiddin pleaded not guilty during the hearing in a court in the northeastern state of Kelantan.
The complaint is based on a speech given by Muhyiddin this month, where he questioned Sultan Abdullah’s role in the results of the 2022 general elections, which ended without a clear winner.
According to the New Straits newspaper, the politician guaranteed that, After the elections, he obtained the support of a sufficient number of legislators to form a government.but the then monarch did not invite him to lead the new executive and instead proposed his rival Anwar Ibrahim, the current prime minister.
Malaysia has a rotating monarchy, where every five years one of the country’s nine sultans is elected king. The monarch plays a largely ceremonial role and is protected by laws inherited from colonial times.
If convicted, Muhyiddin, who leads the conservative opposition Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) bloc, which is supported mainly by the country’s majority ethnic Malay group, could face a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 ringgits (1,030 euros).
The politician faces a new trial, in which he is accused by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) of seven crimes of corruption and money laundering.
MACC alleges that Muhyiddin received bribes worth five million ringgit (1.05 million euros).
The former ruler has denied abusing his power, including by awarding contracts to ethnic Malay contractors selected in exchange for bribes and by approving a businessman’s appeal against the cancellation of a tax break he enjoyed.
Muhyiddin was also accused of embezzlement of public funds intended to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The former Malaysian chief executive for 17 months, between March 2020 and August 2021, at the height of the pandemic in Malaysia, is accused of abusing his position to obtain bribes totalling 232.5 million ringgit (48.5 million euros).
The bribes were paid by companies that received preferential treatment for projects financed by the funds, according to the indictment. In addition, he faces charges two counts of money laundering valued at 195 million ringgit (40.8 million euros).
Muhyiddin called the allegations “organised political persecution” aimed at discrediting the Islamist Bersatu party.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim denied the allegations were politically motivated. MACC and the Attorney General’s Office, whose heads were appointed by Muhyiddin, also denied there was political interference in the investigation.
Source: Observadora
