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PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is set to return to the sessions court in Kuala Lumpur to face four charges of abusing his position to obtain bribes totalling RM232.5 million for Bersatu.

This follows a decision by a five-member Court of Appeal bench today to dismiss his review application.

The ruling means the decision of a three-member Court of Appeal bench, which on Feb 28 set aside a High Court ruling acquitting the former prime minister of the charges, has been maintained.

Bench chairman Justice Azizah Nawawi, in delivering the unanimous ruling, said Muhyiddin’s contention that the previous panel had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal from the High Court would lead to absurdity.

(If that were the case), the High Court will have unlimited jurisdiction when an accused is acquitted without a trial,

she said, adding that this will lead to the prosecution having no remedy to appeal.

Azizah said Section 50 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 cannot be read in isolation.

"The doctrine of harmonious construction must be applied. Section 50 must read together with other provisions in the CJA and Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code,"she said.

Also on the bench which heard the application on July 9 were Justices Che Ruzima Ghazali, Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Azman Abdullah and Azhahari Kamal Ramli.

Muhyiddin was charged in the sessions court last year with abusing his power as prime minister between Feb 8 and Aug 20, 2021 in connection with the Jana Wibawa programme by seeking to obtain RM232.5 million for Bersatu.

He pleaded not guilty before judge Azura Alwi on March 10 last year.

He then filed an application with the High Court seeking to strike out the charges brought against him on grounds that they were defective.

On Aug 15, 2023, the High Court allowed the application, with Justice Jamil Hussin acquitting and discharging him of the four charges.

The prosecution then appealed against the ruling to the Court of Appeal.

On Feb 28 this year, the appeals court overturned the High Court’s decision, ruling that the judge had erred in concluding that charges to be defective.

Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who led a three-member Court of Appeal bench, said the charges had listed all the necessary ingredients required to be established to constitute an offence under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.

The appeals court, which also comprised Justices Azmi Arifin and S Komathy, ordered that the case be remitted to the sessions court for trial.

Muhyiddin then filed the present review application, and applied for an expanded five-member panel to hear his application to restore the High Court ruling.

Following today’s decision, a case management will be held Sept 27 before Azura.

Outside the court, lead defence counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told reporters Muhyiddin was disappointed with today’s outcome.

"We took the position that Section 50 of the Courts of Judicature Act must be given a literal interpretation as there was ambiguity,"he said.

He said the defence team would study the ruling before deciding its next course of action.

The prosecution today was led by deputy public prosecutor Dusuki Mokhtar, the head of the trial and appeal division in the Attorney-General’s Chambers. Assisting him were DPPs Wan Shahruddin Wan Ladin, Ahmad Akram Gharib and Zander Lim.