Malaysia court drops abuse of power charges against former PM Muhyiddin Yassin

Attorney-general’s chambers filed an appeal after Kuala Lumpur High Court dropped ‘vague, flawed’ charges of abuse of power against ex-PM Muhyiddin Yassin

Muhyiddin still faces three corruption charges for allegedly receiving illegal proceeds and laundering tens of millions of dollars between 2020 and 2022

Reading Time:2 minutes

Supporters of Muhyiddin Yassin gather outside Kuala Lumpur High Court on March 10. Muhyiddin still faces three further corruption charges. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:26pm, 15 Aug 2023

A Malaysian court on Tuesday dropped four charges of abuse of power by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, just days after his Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition reaffirmed its electoral hold over Malay Muslims in state polls.

In an immediate response, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said it would appeal the verdict.

Muhyiddin rose to the premiership as the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, before resigning 17 months later amid vicious political infighting. But Malay nationalist parties have regrouped under his leadership, and his PN coalition currently holds 74 out of the 222 seats in parliament.

Ethnic Malay voters backed PN in droves in Saturday’s state polls, during which the parties under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government lost a significant share of Malay-majority seats, despite retaining control of their stronghold states.

Muhyiddin Yassin is the second former leader to be charged for corruption, after disgraced ex-prime minister Najib Razak. Photo: Reuters

On Tuesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dropped four charges against Muhyiddin of allegedly using his position as prime minister to obtain bribes from three companies totalling 232.5 million ringgit (US$50.2 million).