Bersatu files bid to challenge MACC’s freezing of its accounts

KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu has filed an application for a judicial review to challenge the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) decision to freeze its bank accounts for investigation purposes.

The application was filed by Datuk Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya and party chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on behalf of the political party at the high court here yesterday through Messrs Chetan Jethwani & Co.

They named MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki and 19 others as the first to 20th respondents.

They claimed that the decision to freeze its bank accounts was done in bad faith.

They also claimed that the commission had abused its powers by conducting selective political prosecution against the leadership of Bersatu, Perikatan Nasional, or Muhyiddin.

They also sought a declaration from the court against the MACC that the commission should not follow the directives of leaders of the ruling party, prime minister, or deputy prime minister by enlisting MACC officers to initiate an investigation into Bersatu, causing the issuance of an alleged wrongful freezing order.

According to the court document, the Bersatu president was also seeking an interim order that allows him to move freely and make unrestricted trips abroad. 

Muhyiddin is scheduled for a trip to London on April 14 and 15 as a keynote speaker at the 1st Annual Conference of the Global Council for Political Renewal.

According to the application, the Immigration Department had recently imposed a travel ban on Muhyiddin “illegally and without any reasonable grounds” and without having served a formal notice.

It claimed the travel ban was imposed because Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim worries that Muhyiddin would appear at an international forum talking about political changes that would touch on developments in Malaysia.

The applicant, Muhyiddin, claimed that there was an effort to accuse or link him or Bersatu with corruption and abuse of power.

Thus, Muhyiddin is also seeking another certiorari order (a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency) to quash the travel ban.

The party also claimed that the MACC has detained and charged its members and third parties to threaten and influence them to associate Muhyiddin or Bersatu with fabricated offences.

Apart from that, Bersatu is also seeking an order of certiorari to quash the freezing order on its bank accounts imposed on the party under Section 44(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 and to revoke it, according to the court document.

The Bersatu leader also wants the MACC to unfreeze a sum of RM4.354 million for the expenses, operations, and management of the party, and a court order for a writ of mandamus (a judicial writ issued as a command to an inferior court or ordering a person to perform a public or statutory duty) for the MACC officers to abide by the purpose and spirit of the law in investigative procedures and processes.

Further, he is seeking a declaration that as a validly registered political party, Bersatu has rights that are protected under the federal constitution and that its fundamental rights should not be infringed wrongfully for collateral purposes. – Bernama, March 9, 2023