MALAYSIA: Muhyiddin Charged With Another Count Of Money-Laundering, Stays On As Party Leader

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was today charged with an additional count of money laundering, which brings the number of criminal charges against him to seven, following his detention by the country's corruption watchdog last week.

• The Star reported that Muhyiddin "had allegedly, in his capacity as Bersatu president, illegally received MYR5mn from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd at the Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya AmBank branch." The charge carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
• The former Premier and Bersatu party leader was last week charged with six counts of corruption and money laundering but pleaded not guilty, while his political allies accused the authorities of pressing politically motivated charges.
• Bersatu held its annual general meeting yesterday, where Muhyiddin announced that he will remain party leader despite facing corruption charges. Senior Bersatu executives rallied behind their leader and expressed support for his decision.
• Meanwhile, Deputy President of PAS, Bersatu's partner from the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition, dismissed rumours that his party could leave the bloc and said that PAS leaders did not attend Bersatu's annual gathering due to a scheduling clash.