KUALA LUMPUR: 21 Aug 2026 The High Court was told that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) received instructions from “higher-ups” to process only recommendations from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for projects under the Jana Wibawa Programme.
Government Procurement Division Secretary at MOF, Datin Rosni Mohd Yusoff, 54, said the instruction was conveyed by Datuk Zamzuri Abdul Aziz, who was her superior at the time.
Rosni, who was then Secretary of the Government Investment Companies Division, explained that instructions recorded in official documents were treated as directions for civil servants to take action. She said the instructions were conveyed from the PMO to the Minister of Finance’s Office, which then directed the Procurement Division to act accordingly.
She was testifying as the 25th prosecution witness in the trial of former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who faces seven charges involving abuse of power and money laundering linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.
Regarding KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd, Rosni said MOF received information from the PMO about the company’s performance so that its eligibility could be re-evaluated.
She previously testified that KCJ Engineering passed the first stage of evaluation involving mandatory criteria and the second stage involving financial capability, but failed the third stage involving technical capability.
The company had applied for a project to build a new road connecting Felda Bukit Jalor to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. Rosni said the company had previously failed contractor evaluations because of problematic projects and unsatisfactory work performance.
However, the Contractor Evaluation Committee meeting on Feb 26, 2021 found that KCJ Engineering had met the evaluation criteria and recommended that the project be awarded through direct negotiation to the Finance Minister.
Rosni, who was also chairman of the Contractor Evaluation Committee for Jana Wibawa, said she would not have carried out the directive without receiving instructions.
During cross-examination by lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Muhyiddin, Rosni clarified that she did not receive direct instructions from Muhyiddin. She said the instructions came from the PMO and were in writing.
She also agreed that even if recommendations came from the PMO or Prime Minister, she would not have conducted the evaluation without instructions from her immediate superior.
Muhyiddin, 79, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM225.3 million for Bersatu from several companies in relation to the Jana Wibawa project.
He also faces three charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities totalling RM200 million from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were allegedly deposited into Bersatu’s AmBank and CIMB accounts.
The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin will resume on Aug 26.
–BERNAMA
