Malaysian anti-graft authorities on Thursday questioned former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin following allegations that his party misused public funds meant to fight COVID-19.
Muhyiddin was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, at the height of Malaysia’s battle against the coronavirus, and now leads an opposition coalition.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has not commented on why they are questioning Muhyiddin, but it came weeks after it launched the probe into the alleged misuse of pandemic funds by Bersatu, his political party.
The 75-year-old said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he had been asked to appear before MACC, but did not say why.
On Thursday, Muhyiddin visited the anti-graft body’s office in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital, but did not speak to the journalists gathered outside.
MACC froze Bersatu’s bank accounts last month, and two party leaders have been charged with bribery related to an economic recovery programme launched by Muhyiddin’s government.
Muhyiddin, who is the president of Bersatu, has denied any wrongdoing.
His supporters say the probe is meant to discredit Bersatu ahead of state elections in July.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has alleged that billions of dollars in Covid relief funds were disbursed without proper procedure while Muhyiddin was in office.
Muhyiddin rose to prominence during the tenure of prime minister Najib Razak, who is now serving a 12-year jail term for corruption linked to the plunder of state investment firm 1MDB.
He fell out with Najib in 2015, when he was sacked after criticising the government over the 1MDB scandal.
Muhyiddin later joined a party set up by former premier Mahathir Mohamad and helped to oust Najib and his party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
Then in a volte-face typical of Malaysia’s turbulent politics, he joined hands with UMNO again to win enough support to become premier.