Malaysia’s former HR minister charged with receiving over US$270,000 in bribes

Malaysia’s former HR minister charged with receiving over US$270,000 in bribes M Saravanan is accused of receiving the money in 2022 to approve foreign worker quotas for an engineering firm. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s former human resources minister M Saravanan was charged on Friday (Aug 28) with receiving bribes amounting to RM1.097 million (US$272,370) to approve foreign worker quotas. Saravanan, 58, pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to three charges under the country’s anti-graft law, local news outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported. He is accused of receiving the money on three occasions to approve applications for a quota of 1,000 foreign workers for Kuala Lumpur-based firm TYKB Engineering Sdn Bhd. Saravanan served as HR minister under two prime ministers between 2020 and 2022: Muhyiddin Yassin from March 2020 to August 2021, followed by Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to November 2022. He is currently the Member of Parliament for Tapah in Perak state. He is also deputy president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of Barisan Nasional, which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government. According to the first charge, Saravanan allegedly received RM150,000 (US$37,243) in cash from Vectica Resources Sdn Bhd director Tan Teck Lim through Syed Amirul Syed Ahmad at the Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort on Jun 16, 2022. The second charge accuses him of receiving another RM350,000 (US$86,902) in cash from Tan, also through Syed Amirul, at Bangsar on Jul 7, 2022. The payments were allegedly an inducement to approve the quota applications for TYKB Engineering. The third charge involved RM597,000 (US$148,230), allegedly received from Tan through Syed Amirul, via a Maybank Islamic cheque which was deposited into a Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Big Seven Ventures Sdn Bhd. The third offence allegedly took place at the bank’s Jalan Klang Lama branch on Jul 7, 2022, FMT reported. The three charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carry a maximum 20-year jail term and a fine of not less than five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted. No further information on Tan and Syed Amirul was available, including whether any action has been taken against them or the companies involved. Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi set bail at RM450,000 and ordered Saravanan to report to the nearest MACC office every three months and refrain from contacting witnesses. Earlier, prosecutors had said Saravanan’s offences were non-bailable but proposed bail of RM800,000, Malay Mail reported. The next court mention was set for Sep 29. Saravanan, a four-term Tapah MP, was represented by lawyer Geethan Ram Vincent while MACC senior deputy director of the legal and prosecution division Ahmad Akram Gharib led the prosecution. Before he was charged, Saravanan had written to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday about what he called the MACC’s “wild and baseless” allegations, news outlet Malaysiakini reported on Thursday. He claimed certain individuals were allegedly coerced into implicating him, and that neither he nor his family was personally involved in recruiting foreign workers, Malaysiakini reported. Saravanan’s date in court came a day after Ismail Sabri was charged at the same court with failing to declare his assets under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act. Ismail Sabri allegedly failed to declare nearly US$40 million in local and nine foreign currencies, as well as five Suisse Fine gold bars, a Suisse Fine silver bar and a gold coin, on Feb 7 last year at MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya.