Emotions run high in court as Mohd Isa Samad sent to Sungai Buloh Prison for six years

FAMILY members of former minister Tan Sri Isa Samad broke down as police took him away following the Federal Court’s decision today.

Isa’s family was seated behind him when Judge Datuk Nordin Hassan reinstated his six-year jail term and a fine of RM15.45 million.

Reports in The New Straits Times said Isa’s wife Bibi Sharliza Mohd Khalid was seen crying as other family members comforted her, while several others were also seen embracing one another.

Isa, who remained calm as the judge took more than an hour to deliver his judgment, was immediately taken away by police to the holding room at the end of the hearing.

His family members then left the courtroom and headed towards the lock-up area to meet him.

Isa will serve his jail term at the Sungai Buloh Prison.

Earlier, the Federal Court reinstated his conviction for corruption, overturning the Court of Appeal’s previous acquittal.

The ruling restores the six-year prison sentence and RM15.45 million fine handed down by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 2021, marking a decisive moment in Malaysia’s long-running efforts to hold senior political figures accountable.

The Federal Court, in a unanimous judgment chaired by Justice Nordin, found that the Court of Appeal had failed to adequately assess key facts in Isa’s case, warranting intervention by the nation’s highest judicial body.

The charges, originally filed on December 14, 2018, related to Isa’s approval of a proposal for Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FICSB) to purchase a hotel in Kuching, Sarawak.

He faced one count of criminal breach of trust and nine counts of receiving gratification involving more than RM3 million.

The offences occurred between July 21, 2014, and December 11, 2015, at Menara Felda, Persiaran KLCC, and fell under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of at least five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Isa, 76, had previously been acquitted by the Court of Appeal on March 6, 2024, after appealing his High Court conviction, sparking controversy and public debate over political accountability. – February 10, 2026