Muhyiddin’s Defence Seeks Contempt Action Over MACC Officer’s Police Report

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — The defence team in Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s Jana Wibawa case moved to cite the 29th prosecution witness for contempt of court today over a police report lodged against one of the lead lawyers representing the former prime minister.

Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad informed the High Court that the police report was lodged against him concerning the ownership of a document—specifically a copy of a recorded statement by Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad—which was alleged to have no relation to the ongoing trial. Amer Hamzah characterized the police report as an attempt to mislead the public, tarnish his reputation, and intimidate the defence while the witness was still giving evidence under oath.

“Now, the conduct of lodging this report, mentioning my name, trying to tarnish my reputation and giving false information that the report or the document has nothing to do with the case, is an attempt to mislead the public, mislead the authorities and a form of intimidation,” Amer Hamzah said.

He added that the defence is considering various legal avenues, including filing a police report against the investigating officer for making a false report and initiating contempt of court proceedings.

The witness, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Mazery Mohd Zaini, apologized to the legal team before the court prior to resuming his testimony. Mazery explained that the report was filed to investigate potential internal leaks of classified documents within the commission rather than to target defence counsel.

“First, I would like to apologise to the legal team, especially Datuk Amer, over the police report that was lodged out of concern that the document might have come from MACC officers and that there was an internal leak of information among MACC officers,” Mazery said, adding that the commission would withdraw the police report if no internal leak is discovered.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin argued that characterizing the police report as intimidation was excessive, stating that Mazery had a responsibility to safeguard the MACC’s integrity while leaving the matter to the court’s discretion.

Presiding Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin stated that the court takes the issue seriously, particularly as Mazery was actively in the process of testifying. She directed Mazery to consult with his department to clarify the officers connected to the document and report, and to inform the court immediately.

–NMT