Jana Wibawa Corruption Case: What's the Story So Far?

What is Jana Wibawa?

It may sound like the name of some random rock band, but Jana Wibawa stands for the ‘Program Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa’.

In 2020, the government led by Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin, 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia introduced the project in November 2020 to:

• Speed up the implementation of government projects to help boost Malaysia’s economic recovery after COVID-19.

• To help increase the capacity of Bumiputera contractors in the construction industry to be more competitive.

Who is involved in the probe (so far)?

1. Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan

48-year-old Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who is the Bersatu information chief and Tasek Gelugor member of Parliament, was charged with receiving bribes of RM6.9 million. He was also the former chairman of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN).

He allegedly asked for and received a bribe to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd secure the ‘Central Spine Road: Sertik To East Coast Expressway Interchange’ project, worth RM232,000,000 from the Malaysian government.

He apparently received RM6,962,694.54, which was transferred from a Maybank Islamic Berhad account owned by Nepturis Sdn Bhd into a CIMB Bank Berhad account owned by his company, WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, as a reward for helping the company to obtain a Letter of Acceptance for the project.

He pleaded not guilty. Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the president of Bersatu, has accepted Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s resignation as the party’s information chief but has said that this move is not because he was guilty.

2. Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad

Businessman Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad and Bersatu's deputy division chief for Segambut, is also facing multiple charges as he apparently accepted RM4.1 million in bribes.

For his first charge, he allegedly received RM2 million for helping Lian Tan Chuan from Nepturis Sdn Bhd obtain a contract in the Northern Klang district for its head office from the government worth RM141 million. 

For his second charge, he allegedly received RM2.1 million from Mat Jusoh Mamat, who is the managing director of MIE Infrastructure & Energy Sdn Bhd for a separate road works project which cost RM47.8 million from Jalan Sg Adam to Kg Banat, Perlis.

He is a cousin to Datuk Muhamad Adlan Berhan, who is the son-in-law of Muhyiddin Yassin.

3. Tengku Zafrul Aziz

The current Minister of International Trade and Industry and former Minister of Finance Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz testified as a witness and gave his statement to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

4. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

The former prime minister was also called to provide a statement at the MACC. He had previously denied that he was a suspect. He said that he had provided information on the awarding of the contracts for the project, which was not done according to the rules according to certain parties.

5. Datuk Teo Wee Cheng

The 65-year-old founder of Muar-based listed furniture maker SHH Resources Holdings Claimed trial to two charges of asking for bribes worth RM11.3mil and seven charges of receiving a total of RM1.5mil worth of bribes in connection to the project. He pleaded not guilty.

He apparently solicited and received bribes in exchange for helping Muar Usaha Bakti Sdn Bhd and TS Dynamic Construction Sdn Bhd to procure contracts and subcontractor jobs involving various road projects in rural Johor from the government by using his government connections.

The RM300 million in Donations to Bersatu

In a report by the Malay Mail, MACC sources have claimed around RM300 million in ‘donations’ have allegedly ended up in Bersatu’s accounts. These were apparently from ten contractors who were said to have obtained public projects when Bersatu was in government and is linked to the COVID-19 Economic Stimulus Package.