Apex court reserves judgment in Isa Samad corruption case

The prosecution argues that it successfully established a prima facie case at trial, which the defence failed to rebut.

The prosecution earlier sought to persuade the three‑member apex court bench, chaired by Justice Nordin Hassan, that there was no need for corroborative evidence to prove that Isa received the kickbacks through Zahid Arip, his special officer at the time.

Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz submitted that it was sufficient under the law for the prosecution to show that the accused received the gratification.

“This is the current legal position to convict an accused under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission Act,” he said.

Afzainizam said the evidence showed that Zahid had collected money from Sarawak businessman Ikhwan Zaidel, which he delivered to Isa’s office in paper bags on nine occasions between July 2014 and December 2015.

The prosecutor said the money was a reward for Isa’s assistance in securing approval from the board of directors of Felda Investment Corp Sdn Bhd (FICSB) for the purchase of Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites.

“On each occasion, Zahid merely left the money on a table,” he said, adding that this was enough to prove Isa’s receipt of the money.

He said Isa, prior to the first payment of RM100,000, inquired if Zahid had called “the Sarawakian”.

When Zahid replied in the negative, Isa told Zahid to “kirim salam” (send my regards). “That was code for ‘collect the money’,” said Afzainizam, who was assisted by deputy public prosecutor Arif Aizuddin Masrom.

Afzainizam said the prosecution had established a prima facie case based on the presumption that the money was intended for corrupt purposes, which Isa failed to rebut in his defence.

He said the Court of Appeal did not rule that Zahid was not a credible witness, although it noted discrepancies in his testimony.

Afzainizam said the appeals court, which acquitted Isa of the charges, had erred by interfering with findings of facts made by the trial judge.

“The bench held that there was no judicial appreciation of the evidence by the trial judge, especially on Zahid’s evidence that Isa asked him to give ‘salam’,” the deputy public prosecutor said.

In urging the apex court bench to restore Isa’s conviction, Afzainizam said this was a case of “innocently asking but corruptly receiving”.

No prima facie case, says defence

In reply, defence lawyer M Athimulan argued that there was no other evidence to substantiate Zahid’s alleged delivery of the money to Isa.

He said the Court of Appeal was correct to rule that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case against Isa, and that his defence should not have been called.

“There was no credible evidence of Isa’s involvement in the FICSB board’s decision to approve the hotel purchase.

“Neither did he instruct Zahid to demand gratification as a reward for assisting with the FICSB approval,” he added.

Athimulan said the Court of Appeal was also correct to hold that the prosecution had presented two different narratives of the case.

He said the charges and the prosecution’s opening statement claimed that the gratification was a reward for Isa.

However, in the course of the trial, the narrative was changed so that the money represented an “inducement” for Isa not to interfere with the hotel purchase, the lawyer added.

Athimulan said the bench was right to acquit Isa due to the presence of the two conflicting narratives.

Also on the bench hearing the appeal were Justices Lee Swee Seng and Ruzima Ghazali.

In 2021, the High Court found Isa guilty of nine corruption charges involving RM3.09 million.

Isa, a former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar, was sentenced to six years in prison and fined RM15.4 million.

Two years ago, though, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and sentence, leading to the present appeal.