FEDERAL prosecutors are appealing the acquittal of former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad on nine counts of corruption, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred both in law and fact in overturning his 2021 conviction.
In a petition of appeal filed with the Federal Court on 26 June, the Attorney General’s Chambers outlined 24 grounds challenging the appellate court’s decision, which saw Isa discharged and acquitted of receiving RM3.09 million in bribes linked to Felda’s controversial RM160 million acquisition of the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites in Kuching.
The prosecution is asking the apex court to reinstate the original ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, which had found Isa guilty and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment and a RM15.45 million fine, or 18 years in jail in default.
According to the petition, the Court of Appeal erred by rejecting the High Court’s finding that Isa had, through indirect language, instructed his former political aide Muhammad Zahid Md Arip to solicit bribes from Ikhwan Zaidel, a board member of Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd, which brokered the hotel deal.
“The Court of Appeal misdirected itself in law when it failed to appreciate that the respondent’s instruction, ‘If they give anything later, you just take it,’ was in fact a directive to receive illicit payment,” the prosecution stated.
Muhammad Zahid, a prosecution witness, testified that Isa’s remark—uttered after a meeting with Ikhwan—was understood as a green light to accept bribes on the former Felda chief’s behalf. The prosecution argued that Zahid subsequently followed through, receiving and delivering cash to Isa in several tranches.
The prosecution also said the appellate court had wrongly interpreted Ikhwan’s testimony, concluding that there was no evidence Isa had ever directly requested any gratification during their meetings. This, they argued, contradicted the High Court’s careful factual assessment of the same witnesses, whom it found credible.
“The Court of Appeal disturbed key factual findings based on consistent testimony by both Zahid and Ikhwan,” the petition stated. “These findings were grounded in clear evidence showing that the gratification was linked to Isa’s role in approving Felda’s purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel through Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd.”
It added that Ikhwan had acknowledged the approval in a subsequent meeting with Isa and had expressed his willingness to assist Sarawak’s Parti Bumiputera Bersatu, which prosecutors say underscores the quid pro quo nature of the transaction.
The Court of Appeal’s three-member bench—Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera (now a Federal Court judge), and Datuk S.M. Komathy Suppiah—acquitted Isa on 6 March last year, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution filed its notice of appeal the following day.
Isa, a former Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan, was accused of receiving the RM3.09 million from Ikhwan via Zahid between July 2014 and December 2015, at his office on the 49th floor of Menara Felda, Kuala Lumpur.
The charges were brought under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, and punishable under Section 24(1) of the same law, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of at least five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The matter is now set for case management at the Federal Court this coming Monday. - July 5, 2025
