AMN

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday arrested former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on the charges of corruption.

Muhyiddin, who was the Prime Minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, will be charged under laws related to abuse of power and money laundering.

The ex-premier and his party have faced graft investigations since losing to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in November’s election. Prime Minister Ibrahim last year ordered a review of government projects worth billions of dollars approved by Muhyiddin, including COVID-19 relief programmes, alleging they did not follow proper procedures. However, Muhyiddin has denied the accusations, describing them as a political vendetta.

Muhyiddin, who is also the president of Bersatu, a leading opposition party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition, would be the second former prime minister to be charged. He follows Najib Razak, who is serving a 12-year jail term for corruption.