Today, another previous prime minister and sitting MP has been charged with money laundering surrounded by his supporters shouting and waving placards proclaiming his innocence, even as he attended a police station for questioning (in Malaysia, they have a delightful way of saying this. They say "attended for his statement to be recorded."

But the money laundering charges, laid in the Sessions Court in Shah Alam, an hour and a half outside the Capital, are not the first charges to be laid against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, known as Muhyiddin, who operated a behind-closed-doors government during the CoVId-19 pandemic and where many measures were put into effect without full parliamentary scrutiny and, perhaps even more importantly, without the full knowledge of the people.

But, that, it has to be said, was far from a unique position and around the world governments did the same.

In Malaysia, however, it has been alleged that Muhyiddin enriched himself as part of a scheme that was already open to question, to channel state money to businesses operated by Malays, upon whose support he was dependent. That support came to nothing as Muhyiddin, who made a series of ill-advised decisions as to who to keep close found that if one keeps one's enemies closer, one of them might turn out to be Mark Anthony and he was soon ousted by Ismail Sabri Yaakob, known as Sabri, who, despite a ban on hairdressers managed a perfectly coiffed head of hair all day, every day for his frequent media appearances during the pandemic. Sabri, despite being from a different party, had been appointed deputy prime minister by Muhyiddin, despite the latter having said only weeks earlier that he had no need for a deputy.

Last week, Muhyiddin appeared before the Sessions Court in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. There he was granted bail of MYR2 million with sureties and ordered to surrender his passport. In that court there were several charges of corruption (by abuse of power) and, once more, money laundering. As Muhyiddin left court that day, he shouted out " elective prosecution and political persecution."

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/03/13/muhyiddin-charged-wit…