Malaysian authorities have frozen the bank accounts of the opposition Bersatu party, led by former Prime Minister Mujahedin Yassin, in connection with an investigation into alleged misappropriation during his tenure.
The Bersatu Party’s accounts were frozen 15 days ago, dealing a blow to the party and the coalition–Perikatan Nasional–that it leads, as state elections are scheduled for this year, ‘Straits Time’ has reported.
Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin has indicated that he will cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation to put a swift end to the «slander» against him.
«Bersatu will continue to cooperate in this investigation so that the malicious slander can be stopped immediately. Bersatu party leaders and officials who had been asked to give evidence before the MACC have also been instructed to cooperate fully,» a statement reads.
Thus, it has accused the Anwar Ibrahim government of «using government agencies — such as the MACC — as a tool to achieve its political objectives of killing the credibility of the party and the coalition.»
«We are sure that the people are always aware of the bad strategy (of the Executive) that wants to divert the attention of the people from the weakness, failure and nepotism of their government,» Zainudin has concluded in the missive, adding that his party is strict with the principles of integrity and good governance.
In addition, the party’s vice-president, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, has stated that the freezing of the accounts could hurt the party’s chances in the next elections, because it is a «small party» that does not have «a lot of funds», reports ‘Malaysiakini’.
Shortly after taking office, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claimed that «tens of billions of ringit (Malaysian dollar)» of COVID-19 aid during Mujahidin Yasin’s tenure were allocated without due process.
Mujahidin, who leads the party and was prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021, has denied any wrongdoing, reports Bloomberg.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
