KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin has reportedly been questioned by the country’s anti-graft agency over allegations that a government contract was awarded to a relative when he was Malaysia’s prime minister.
The Star, citing a source, reported that Mr Muhyiddin was called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Thursday (Feb 16) over the contract which was said to be worth over a billion ringgit.
Last Thursday, Mr Muhyiddin denied claims that he had awarded the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) to IRIS Corp Bhd that was purportedly linked to his son-in-law.
Local media reports had previously named Mr Muhyiddin’s son-in-law, Adlan Berhan, as a possible key player in the contract for the NIISe – an immigration system that seeks to use biometric technology to enable the adoption of e-Gates at Malaysia’s immigration checkpoints.
In a Facebook post on Feb 9 refuting the allegations against him, Mr Muhyiddin said: “I vehemently deny this accusation. It is an evil slander deliberately designed to defame me and my family.
“I, as the prime minister at the time, was not at all involved in the process of awarding NIISe contract to IRIS Corporation Berhad which was conducted through open tender.”
Mr Muhyiddin was Malaysia’s 8th prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021.