THE dispute over the validity of a golf event which Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin participated in six years ago was resolved today when the High Court was told there was an invoice registered in his name based on a check in the registration system.
Tropicana Golf & Country Resort (TGCR) Group Security Chief S. Saravanan, 56, said a check showed that the former Prime Minister was among the players whose names were registered and included in the `Green Fee Tags' on July 19, 2020.
The 28th prosecution witness said that the `Green Fee Tags' also had the note `Present upon request by starter/marshall' which indicated that the document had to be presented when requested by the game release officer (starter) or marshal at the golf course.
According to the former policeman, a total of 15 players participated in the event and were divided into four `flights' (groups), including Muhyiddin, while the invoice issued was paid in full by the golf club.
Saravanan said the event was probably a friendly match because tournaments usually have more than 20 `flights' with a total of 40 to 260 players.
"Although on the invoice, only four players' names were listed, when checked in the system, the total number of players was 15," he said when giving evidence at the trial of the former Prime Minister who is facing seven charges related to the Janawibawa case.
The issue regarding the validity of Muhyiddin's participation in the event was raised by the defence team when cross-examining the 27th prosecution witness, Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff.
In the proceedings on August 27, lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad disputed Azman's statement, which initially stated that the event was held in May 2020.
According to the lawyer, the date was unreasonable because at that time the government implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO), which did not allow any sports tournament to be held.
Azman, who is also the Director of KCJ Engineering Sdn. Bhd., later agreed that no tournament was held in that month (May 2020).
Azman, however, said he later amended the witness statement by changing the date to July 2020, after visiting the TGCR in person to confirm it.
In his statement, Azman also said he met Muhyiddin, who is also the President of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), while participating in the golf tournament to review government project procurement opportunities.
He said Muhyiddin asked him to obtain further information regarding the Janawibawa Programme from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) by meeting relevant officers.
"At the meeting, Tan Sri Muhyiddin also spontaneously stated to me that if there were contractors who wanted to make a contribution, they could donate directly to Bersatu and not to any individual in the party," he said.
Meanwhile, when cross-examined by lawyer Chetan Jethwani, Saravanan said that although the witness was working at the golf club four months after the event took place, he could confirm Muhyiddin's participation based on a system check.
In today's proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Noralis Mat said that the prosecution would not call businessman Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad to testify as a prosecution witness, but would instead offer him as a defence witness.
Muhyiddin, 79, who was then Prime Minister and Bersatu President, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM225.3 million in relation to the Janawibawa Programme from four companies, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd and KCJ Engineering, as well as Azman for the political party.
He is alleged to have committed the act at the Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and August 20, 2021.
The Pagoh MP also faces three charges of receiving proceeds from illegal activities totalling RM200 million from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu's Ambank and CIMB Bank accounts at the bank's branches in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md. Nurdin continues tomorrow. – September 1, 2026
