KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): Businessman Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad was charged again in the Sessions Court here, with soliciting a RM2 million bribe concerning the Jana Wibawa scheme, which was established to help Bumiputera contractors. 

Adam, who had previously been charged in the Sessions Court here and in Shah Alam on four counts of soliciting and receiving bribes in connection to Jana Wibawa, pleaded not guilty to the additional charge of soliciting RM2 million on Tuesday (Feb 28). 

The charge was read out to him before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi. 

He was charged with soliciting and asking a bribe from a Lian Tan Chuan, who runs Nepturis Sdn Bhd, to allegedly to help Nepturis secure a contract for the Klang Utara district police headquarters project worth RM141 million.

The charge was framed under Section 16(a)(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and punishable under Section 24 of the same Act, which carries up to 20 years' jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam represented Adam, while deputy public prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh was acting for the prosecution. 

The bail conditions were tied to the Shah Alam court charges against Adam, which meant that the accused did not have to pay bail before Azura. She also maintained the same bail conditions as the charges in Shah Alam. 

She fixed March 23 for case mention. 

Jana Wibawa, or Program Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa, was mooted during the Perikatan Nasional administration, where Bersatu was a component party.

Adam is Bersatu's deputy division chief for Segambut.

The government at the time said the programme was set up to improve the capacity of Bumiputera contractors in the construction industry, as well as to expedite project execution to spur the nation’s economic recovery post Covid-19.

Two weeks ago, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was summoned by the MACC to record his statement on the programme. It was reported that Muhyiddin was among individuals being investigated by the agency over the matter, but he claimed that he was called in to give his statement and was not a suspect.

International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who served as the finance minister under Muhyiddin, had also confirmed that he was summoned by the MACC over the matter.

On Feb 15, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that RM5.7 billion worth of rural development projects under the Jana Wibawa scheme had been postponed.

This, said the Umno president, was to review whether the contracts had been awarded in accordance with the procurement processes and governance requirements set by the Treasury.

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