Court hears charges against former UKM director accused of RM3.12m contract abuse

SHAH ALAM, Oct 15 — A former director of an education centre at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here today to two charges of abusing his position to secure employment contracts worth RM3.12 million in 2022.

Datuk Prof Muhammad Hussin, 64, a retiree, entered the plea after the charges were read out before Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin.

According to the charges, Muhammad, a member of Koperasi Siswazah Bangi Berhad (KSBB), allegedly abused his position to secure two contracts worth RM1.2 million and RM1.92 million respectively to manage the Master of Education programme through UKM’s Faculty of Education.

He was accused of influencing KSBB board members at two separate meetings to approve the appointment of QTech Management Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a company in which he purportedly had an interest, as the programme operator.

The alleged offences took place on Feb 26 and June 25, 2022, at Kolej Keris Mas, UKM, and Hotel Tenera in Bangi, respectively.

Muhammad was charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 (Act 694), which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a fine of at least five times the value of the gratification involved, if it can be valued or is monetary in nature, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

MACC deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin proposed bail of RM300,000, with additional conditions requiring the accused to report to the MACC office, surrender his passport to the court and refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses.

Defence counsel Muhammad Wafi Anwar Roslan sought a lower bail of RM50,000, citing his client’s financial circumstances, including his responsibility for two wives and nine children, and his reliance on a monthly pension as his sole source of income.

“The accused also suffers from synovial sarcoma and heart disease, both of which require regular treatment. I also urge the court not to impose the passport surrender condition, as his second wife and child are in Indonesia,” he said.

The court set bail at RM80,000 and ordered the accused to surrender his passport and refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses.

The case was fixed for mention on Nov 12. — Bernama