PMO under Muhyiddin proposed 54 firms for Jana Wibawa, court hears

KUALA LUMPUR: Former finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz told the High Court today that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) under Muhyiddin Yassin proposed 54 companies for direct negotiations on projects under the Jana Wibawa programme in 2020.

Tengku Zafrul, 53, testifying in the former prime minister’s corruption trial, said the PMO had exclusively provided a list of companies to be evaluated for pre-qualification tenders under the same programme to the finance ministry that year.

Tengku Zafrul was the finance minister at the time.

He said a pre-qualification tender is a restricted process where a select group of companies identified by the PMO compete based on technical and financial screenings.

In his witness statement, Tengku Zafrul said KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd (KESB) was listed as No 31 among the 54 firms, having been awarded a RM62 million project to build a new road linking Felda Bukit Jalor to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.

However, he did not reveal the other 53 companies or their corresponding projects.

Under the pre-qualification tenders, the PMO proposed six companies to compete for the Pulau Indah Circle Phase 3 project, valued at RM605.2 million. The project was awarded to Sutracom Sdn Bhd.

Similarly, the PMO proposed five companies for the pre-qualification process to build the Klang Utara police headquarters, valued at RM141 million. The public works department’s procurement board ultimately recommended Nepturis Sdn Bhd.

KESB failed first evaluation

Tengku Zafrul, the prosecution’s 11th witness, claimed that the Jana Wibawa contractor evaluation committee found that KESB had failed the initial assessment and was not recommended for the road project on Dec 15, 2020.

The PMO furnished additional information about the company for further evaluation in a letter dated Feb 3, 2021.

“KESB subsequently passed the second round of evaluation and was recommended for the project based on the committee’s decision at a meeting on Feb 26, 2021,” he said.

‘I do not know the 54 companies on the list’

Tengku Zafrul also admitted that he did not know how the PMO or Muhyiddin obtained the names of the 54 companies listed in the letter to the finance ministry. He said none of the companies had met him or submitted an application to him for any project award.

“I do not know how the PMO assessed the companies or selected the projects for each company. I confirm that the companies listed in this document were proposed by the PMO, not by me or the finance ministry.”

He also said that Muhyiddin never informed him that he or Bersatu would receive contributions from the companies listed in the letter.

Muhyiddin, 78, faces seven charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme, a government initiative introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to assist Bumiputera contractors.

The Bersatu president is charged with four counts of abusing his position to solicit RM225.3 million in bribes for the party from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd and Azman Yusoff, allegedly for Bersatu.

The offences were allegedly committed at the PMO between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.

Muhyiddin also faces three counts of money laundering involving RM200 million, allegedly received from Bukhary Equity and deposited into Bersatu’s accounts at AmBank and CIMB Bank.

The offences are said to have taken place at AmBank in Petaling Jaya and CIMB Bank on Jalan Stesen Sentral between Feb 25, 2021 and July 8, 2022.

The defence team comprises Amer Hamzah Arshad, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Rosli Dahlan, Chetan Jethwani, K Kumaraendran, Kee Wei Loon, Low Wei Loke, Siti Summaiyah Ahmad Jaafar, Lee Yei Wei, Tang Jia Yearn and Joshua Tay.

The prosecution team includes Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Ahmad Akram Gharib, Noralis Mat, Mahadi Jumaat, Alis Izzati Azurin Rusdi and Safari Abdullah.

The defence will cross-examine Tengku Zafrul before Justice Noor Ruwena Nurdin tomorrow.