KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu has blamed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) move to freeze party accounts on the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin called it a politically motivated move to hurt the party and Perikatan Nasional’s reputation.
Nevertheless, he said Bersatu will cooperate with MACC, and instructed party leaders and officials summoned by the agency to give full cooperation.
Hamzah’s remarks followed confirmation by MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki who earlier said that the party’s accounts had been frozen on suspicion of receiving illegal proceeds.
“Bersatu is disappointed with the actions of the PH-BN government which has used a federal agency as its tool to achieve their political agenda which is to destroy Bersatu and PN.
“We are sure the people can see through the disgusting strategies of the PH-BN government which only wants to distract the public’s attention from its failures, as well the nepotism it practices,” Hamzah said in a statement this evening.
Azam earlier said that Bersatu’s accounts were being investigated under the MACC Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.
The party led by PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had been in power from 2020 to 2021 during which time the PN government had had rolled out several economic stimulus packages totalling some RM600 billion to assist Malaysians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
MACC, which opened investigation papers into the alleged misappropriation of the stimulus packages funds in December, narrowed its probe to focus on RM92.5 billion after finding that only this amount involved government funds.
The freezing of Bersatu’s accounts followed the arrest of a chief executive officer (CEO) of a private company last month over the same investigation.
The 42-year-old CEO, who was remanded for five days, was suspected of acting as a “middleman” in the distribution of projects under the stimulus packages from 2020 to 2022. – The Vibes, February 1, 2023
