THE Federal Court on Tuesday drew a sharp distinction between religious custom and criminal conduct, ruling that the act of conveying a ‘salam’ through an intermediary, while common practice among Muslims, carried an implicit request for a bribe in the case of former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad.
The three-member panel, chaired by Datuk Nordin Hassan, made the observation before ordering the former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar to be jailed immediately following his conviction on nine corruption charges involving RM3 million linked to the purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel Suites in Kuching, Sarawak, 12 years ago.
Delivering a 105-minute judgment, Nordin said the greetings conveyed by Mohd Isa to former Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd board member Ikhwan Zaidel were not innocuous, but carried an implied meaning.
He said there was evidence that the communication, framed as the giving of salam by Mohd Isa as the respondent, was intended to seek or solicit a bribe.
“Conveying greetings through an intermediary is a common practice, but the court has ruled that, in the context of the respondent’s communication of greetings, it amounted to an act of soliciting a bribe.
“As the respondent’s special officer, it is inconceivable that Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, who is also the 21st prosecution witness, would have asked for or demanded grant money for himself,” he said.
Nordin, who sat alongside Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, said it was inconceivable that Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, acting as an intermediary, would have acted independently or at his own discretion without Mohd Isa’s authorisation.
He added that evidence showed the respondent had used the intermediary to request political funding from a businessman whose company stood to benefit from Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd’s approval of the Merdeka Palace Hotel Suites acquisition.
According to the court, Mohd Isa, in his capacity as chairman of FICSB and a key figure in approving the purchase of the hotel from Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd, had conveyed salam to Ikhwan on several occasions.
The court concluded that, when assessed in context, the greetings were not expressions of courtesy but formed part of a corrupt communication chain tied to the approval of the hotel purchase. - February 10, 2026
