KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — The Kuala Lumpur High Court today declined to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation officer Mazery Mohd Zaini, after accepting his explanation over a police report lodged by a colleague that had drawn sharp criticism from former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s defence team.
The episode — spanning less than 24 hours from the report’s filing to its retraction — cast a shadow over proceedings in one of Malaysia’s most closely watched corruption trials, raising questions about witness conduct and the boundaries of investigative communication while a case is actively before the court.
High Court Accepts Officer’s Explanation, Stops Short of Contempt Citation
High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin delivered her ruling on the matter at the close of proceedings on Monday, stating that while she had instructed all prosecution witnesses not to discuss the trial with anyone while still on the witness stand, she was satisfied with Mazery’s account of his motivations.
“But just now, his explanation is that he wants to check that there is no information leak from MACC itself. So it can be said that this witness is overly-cautious and I accept his explanation. I think I will not proceed to cite for contempt,” the judge said, addressing defence lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad directly.
The judge added that it remained entirely within Amer’s rights to pursue independent legal action against Mazery if he chose to do so.
Mazery, who serves as the 29th prosecution witness in Muhyiddin’s trial, had testified on Sunday and was scheduled to continue cross-examination on Monday. The police report at the centre of the controversy was lodged by a fellow MACC officer on Sunday night, while Mazery was still under oath as a witness.
Defence Calls Police Report an Act of Intimidation; Officer Apologises and Withdraws It
Earlier in the day, Amer brought the police report to the court’s attention, characterising it as a form of “intimidation” against Muhyiddin’s lawyers and an “underhanded tactic” designed to undermine the conduct of the trial.
The report named Amer as having tendered to the court an allegedly classified document — specifically, a statement given to MACC by Segambut Bersatu Division Deputy Chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad during investigations. Amer firmly rejected the characterisation, stating that Muhyiddin’s lawyers had obtained the document through legitimate channels, directly from Adam Radlan’s own legal representatives — not from MACC and not through any improper means.
Amer indicated he was reserving his right to pursue legal action against Mazery over the incident.
Mazery, for his part, offered an apology to Muhyiddin’s legal team and stated he had no intention of damaging their professional reputation. He explained that the police report had been filed solely to determine whether Adam Radlan’s statement — a classified document — had been leaked by someone within MACC itself.
By the afternoon session, Mazery returned to court to confirm the outcome of inquiries he had conducted at MACC headquarters. He told the court that his checks — which took between 15 and 20 minutes — had found no evidence of any information leak originating from MACC officers. Satisfied with those findings, he said he saw no reason to maintain the report.
“As a result of investigations which I carried out at the headquarters, it was found that there are no information leaks from MACC officers, and I am satisfied that no evidence or documents came from MACC officers,” Mazery told the court.
He confirmed that the original police report had been formally retracted and assigned a “No Further Action” (NFA) status, with a fresh police report lodged specifically to withdraw the previous one.
Cross-Examination Reveals Officer Lodged Report Without Prior Internal Checks
During cross-examination by Amer, Mazery acknowledged several procedural shortcomings in the sequence of events leading to Sunday night’s police report.
He confirmed that his subordinate — the MACC colleague who physically lodged the report — was not present in court on Sunday and would therefore have had no direct knowledge of what had transpired during proceedings. Mazery also confirmed that he had not conducted any checks on whether the document had been leaked prior to instructing the report to be filed, and that he had not attempted to clarify the matter with Muhyiddin’s lawyers before taking that step.
Mazery denied, however, that the police report represented a “deliberate plan” to prevent Muhyiddin’s lawyers from questioning four recalled prosecution witnesses about Adam Radlan. He likewise denied any role in leaking the police report to a media outlet that published a story on it Monday morning, stating that only he and his subordinate had received copies of the report.
He also denied that the report was intended to suppress facts favourable to Muhyiddin, or that it was filed and leaked to the press to deter Amer from continuing to pursue issues related to Adam Radlan.
Lead Prosecutor Issues Personal Apology as Prosecution Closes Its Case
In a notable development at the close of proceedings, lead prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin addressed the episode directly before the court, assuming responsibility on behalf of the prosecution team.
“As the lead prosecutor in this case, I take responsibility for what had happened today. I myself apologise to Datuk Amer on this incident,” Wan Shaharuddin said.
The statement came as the prosecution formally closed its case after calling 29 witnesses over more than 30 hearing days.
Trial to Resume in November; Three Power Abuse Charges Remain
The trial is scheduled to resume on November 26 and continue on December 1 to 3, when both the prosecution and Muhyiddin’s defence are expected to submit arguments on whether Muhyiddin will be required to enter his defence.
Muhyiddin now faces three remaining charges of power abuse under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, following the earlier withdrawal of four other charges. The three outstanding charges relate to alleged abuse of power to obtain a total of RM25.3 million in bribes for his party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu):
- RM1 million allegedly sourced from Nepturis Sdn Bhd (March 1–20, 2021)
- RM19.5 million allegedly sourced from Mamfor Sdn Bhd (March 1–20, 2021)
- RM4.8 million allegedly sourced from Datuk Seri Azman Yusoff and KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd (March 1–20, 2021)
The next critical phase of proceedings — arguments on whether a prima facie case has been established — will determine whether Muhyiddin takes the stand in his own defence.
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