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RM25.3 mil to Bersatu was kickback, not political donation, MACC officer tells court

A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigator testified that RM25.3 million deposited into Bersatu's accounts was a reward for former PM Muhyiddin Yassin's help in securing government projects, not a political donation. The witness also said no donation receipts were issued.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Sep 2, 2026 Published 2h ago

KUALA LUMPUR — The High Court heard on Wednesday that RM25.3 million deposited into Bersatu's bank accounts was not a political donation but a kickback to former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for helping companies secure projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini, testifying as the 29th prosecution witness in Muhyiddin's graft trial, said the money was a reward for the accused's actions that helped the companies get government projects.

"Based on investigation, the money that was deposited by these companies were not a political donation but it was a kickback for the accused who helped them secure the projects," Mazery told the court.

He also said the payments were "not a coincidence" as they were made after the companies obtained the projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.

Mazery testified that the total sum of RM25,300,000 was transacted between Sept 22, 2021 and Nov 22, 2022, from KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd, Sutracom Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and businessman Datuk Azman Yusoff into Bersatu's accounts.

He said he did not find any receipts relating to the acceptance of donation issued by Bersatu to the companies and Azman.

The witness also told the court that a check on Bersatu's bank accounts at CIMB Bank and AmBank showed that Muhyiddin was one of the individuals who had control over the accounts.

Mazery said that during the recording of Muhyiddin's statement, the Pagoh MP did not disclose his actions where he instructed the then finance minister to help approve the companies for projects, nor did he speak about the companies donating to Bersatu after the projects were green lighted.

He added that letters and minutes from Muhyiddin triggered the Finance Ministry's further action to begin its consideration process for the companies' applications in the Jana Wibawa programme.

"Without those letters and minutes, the consideration process by the Finance Ministry would not have started as it did," Mazery said.

Previously, the court heard from other prosecution witnesses that KCJ Engineering and its managing director Azman gave RM4.8 million to Bersatu after getting a project, while Nepturis gave RM1 million after also getting a project. Mamfor gave RM19.5 million after its director's younger brother's company, Sutracom, won a project, with RM10 million of that amount paid before the contract award document was issued.

Azman previously said he had a one-on-one meeting with Muhyiddin in July 2020 on opportunities for Bumiputera contractors to get government projects, where the then-prime minister spontaneously said contractors could donate directly to Bersatu.

Muhyiddin faces four counts of alleged power abuse to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for his party, and three counts of alleged money laundering involving money that Bersatu received from Bukhary Equity. He also faces three counts of receiving proceeds from illegal activities totalling RM200 million deposited into Bersatu's bank accounts between February 2021 and July 2022.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.

The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin is scheduled to resume tomorrow, with Azman expected to be further cross-examined.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Malay Mail

Framing: The headline emphasizes that the contractors’ RM25.3 million to Bersatu came after Muhyiddin’s aid to get projects, and was nota‘political donation’, as stated by a court testimony.

as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC

Facts Included:

MACC investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini told the High Court that RM25.3 million given by three Bumiputera contractors and their representatives to Bersatu in 2021 and 2022 was nota “political donation”.
Mazery said the money was instead a reward given after Bersatu president and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin helped these companies get government projects.
Mazery repeated that the RM25.3 million paid by these companies to Bersatu washed “not a coincidence” and that they had all made the payments after obtaining government projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.
Mazery said Muhyiddin was one of the authorised signatories for Bersatu’s CIMB and AmBank bank accounts that received the RM25.3 million, explaining that an authorised signatory could control any transactions in the account.
Mazery said he did not find any donation receipts issued by Bersatu for the RM25.3 million given by KCJ Engineering, Azman, Nepturis, and Mamfor.
Mazery said Muhyiddin had written“minutes” or notes that enabled both Nepturis and Sutracom to obtain the Jana Wibawa projects through pre-qualification tenders.
Mazery also said that Muhyiddin had listed KCJ Engineering as one of 54 contractors in his November 13, 2020, proposal to the Finance Ministry for appointment.
Mazery said the contractors’ owners and representatives have said they would not have given money to Bersatu if they did not get the Jana Wibawa projects.
Mazery said the MACC had recorded Muhyiddin’s testimony, but noted that the former prime minister did not disclose various matters during the investigation, including: that these companies had given money to Bersatu after the government projects were approved; what happened on July 19, 2020, between him and Azman; why he had asked contractors who obtained Jana Wibawa projects to donate to Bersatu; how he obtained the list of 54 companies including KCJ Engineering.
Azman previously said he had a July 2020 one-on-one meeting with Muhyiddin on opportunities for Bumiputera contractors to get government projects, where the then-prime minister spontaneously said contractors could donate directly to Bersatu.
Muhyiddin is facing seven charges: four counts of alleged power abuse to obtain RM25.3 million in bribes for his party, and three counts of alleged money laundering involving money that Bersatu received from Bukhary Equity.
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin is scheduled to resume tomorrow, with Azman expected to be further cross-examined.

Read the source article →

The Star

Framing: The headline emphasizes that the RM25.3mil was a kickback, not a political donation, as stated in court.

as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC

Facts Included:

The High Court was told a total of RM25.3mil that entered Bersatu's bank accounts was not a political donation but a kickback to former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
MACC investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini, 42, testified that the total sum of RM25,300,000 were transacted between Sept 22, 2021 and Nov 22, 2022 from KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd, Sutracom Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and businessman Datuk Azman Yusoff, into Bersatu's accounts.
Mazery said, "I did not find any receipts relating to the acceptance of donation issued by Bersatu to the companies and Azman."
Mazery is the 29th prosecution witness testifying in Muhyiddin's graft trial linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.
The witness told the court that a check on Bersatu's bank accounts at CIMB Bank and AmBank showed that Muhyiddin was one of the individuals who had control over the accounts.
According to Mazery, during the recording of Muhyiddin's statement, the Pagoh MP did not disclose his actions where he instructed the then finance minister to help approve the companies for projects nor did he spoke about the companies donating to Bersatu after the projects were green lighted.
Mazery added, "Based on investigation, the money that was deposited by these companies were not a political donation but it was a kickback for the accused who helped them secure the projects."
Mazery also said, "This was a close link and showed the donation was not merely a political donation but it was a reward after the projects were secured despite the accused no longer being in office."
Mazery testified that letters and minutes from Muhyiddin was the factor that triggered the Finance Ministry's further action to begin its consideration process for the companies' applications in the Jana Wibawa programme.
Mazery said, "Without those letters and minutes, the consideration process by the Finance Ministry would not have started as it did."
The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.
Muhyiddin faces three counts of receiving proceeds from illegal activities totalling RM200mil deposited into Bersatu's bank accounts between February 2021 and July 2022.
The hearing continues before Justice Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin tomorrow ( Sept 3.

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimMACC investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini told the High Court that RM25.3 million given by three Bumiputera contractors and their representatives to Bersatu in 2021 and 2022 was nota 'political donation'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC, The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery said the money was instead a reward given after Bersatu president and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin helped these companies get government projects.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC, The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery repeated that the RM25.3 million paid by these companies to Bersatu was 'not a coincidence' and that they had all made the payments after obtaining government projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery said Muhyiddin was one of the authorised signatories for Bersatu's CIMB and AmBank bank accounts that received the RM25.3 million, explaining that an authorised signatory could control any transactions in the account.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC, The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery said he did not find any donation receipts issued by Bersatu for the RM25.3 million given by KCJ Engineering, Azman, Nepturis, and Mamfor.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC, The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery said Muhyiddin had written'mminutes' or notes that enabled both Nepturis and Sutracom to obtain the Jana Wibawa projects through pre-qualification tenders.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery also said that Muhyiddin had listed KCJ Engineering as one of 54 contractors in his November 13, 2020, proposal to the Finance Ministry for appointment.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery said the contractors' owners and representatives have said they would not have given money to Bersatu if they did not get the Jana Wibawa projects.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery said the MACC had recorded Muhyiddin's testimony, but noted that the former prime minister did not disclose various matters during the investigation, including: that these companies had given money to Bersatu after the government projects were approved; what happened on July 19, 2020, between him and Azman; why he had asked contractors who obtained Jana Wibawa projects to donate to Bersatu; how he obtained the list of 54 companies including KCJ Engineering.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC, The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimAzman previously said he had a July 2020 one-on-one meeting with Muhyiddin on opportunities for Bumiputera contractors to get government projects, where the then-prime minister spontaneously said contractors could donate directly to Bersatu.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC
ClaimMuhyiddin is facing seven charges: four counts of alleged power abuse to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for his party, and three counts of alleged money laundering involving money that Bersatu received from Bukhary Equity.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC, The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimThe trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin is scheduled to resume tomorrow, with Azman expected to be further cross-examined.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Malay Mail as of Sep 2, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC
ClaimThe High Court was told a total of RM25.3mil that entered Bersatu's bank accounts was not a political donation but a kickback to former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMACC investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini, 42, testified that the total sum of RM25,300,000 were transacted between Sept 22, 2021 and Nov 22, 2022 from KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd, Sutracom Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and businessman Datuk Azman Yusoff, into Bersatu's accounts.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMazery is the 29th prosecution witness testifying in Muhyiddin's graft trial linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimThe offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimMuhyiddin faces three counts of receiving proceeds from illegal activities totalling RM200mil deposited into Bersatu's bank accounts between February 2021 and July 2022.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC
ClaimThe hearing continues before Justice Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin tomorrow ( Sept 3.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Star as of Sep 2, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Malay Mail, The Star 18 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-02