THE Federal Court has rescheduled to 4 December the hearing of the prosecution’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad of nine charges of corruption.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz confirmed the new date was set during an online case management session before Deputy Registrar Mahyun Yusof.
“The hearing was initially fixed for 29 October, but was rescheduled after the respondent appointed new legal representation,” he told Bernama today.
Mohd Isa is now represented by the legal firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak, replacing Salehuddin Saidin & Associates. His previous counsel, Datuk Salehuddin Saidin, represented him at both the High Court and Court of Appeal before being appointed as a Senator.
The prosecution filed a notice of appeal on 7 March, followed by a petition on 26 June outlining 24 grounds, asserting that the Court of Appeal had erred in both law and fact when it overturned the conviction.
On 6 March 2024, a three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal, led by Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera (now a Federal Court judge), along with Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk S M Komathy Suppiah, unanimously quashed the High Court’s 2021 decision which had sentenced the former Negeri Sembilan Chief Minister to six years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of RM15.45 million.
In 2018, Mohd Isa, now 75, was charged with receiving RM3,090,000 in bribes from then-Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd board member Ikhwan Zaidel.
The funds were allegedly channelled through his former special officer, Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, as a reward for approving FELDA Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd’s purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites in Kuching for RM160 million.
The alleged offences were said to have occurred between 21 July 2014 and 11 December 2015 at Level 49, Menara FELDA, Persiaran KLCC, Kuala Lumpur.
The charges were brought under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction. - October 1, 2025
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