Arrest of Bersatu treasurer is to pressure party - Hamzah

Malaysiakini : The arrest of Bersatu treasurer Mohamed Salleh Bajuri by the MACC is a tactic to pressure party leaders, said secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin. Hamzah (above) said the MACC had no good reason to remand Salleh and is on a mission to find faults.

“In fact, there is no reasonable cause for the MACC to request the remand of Salleh because he is always fully cooperative whenever required. “Bersatu is of the view that the remand of Salleh is part of the pressure being exerted on the party’s officials and leaders to find non-existent faults,” he said in a statement today.

Hamzah said this in response to the detention of Salleh yesterday, who was remanded for two days by the MACC to assist in its investigation relating to the use of party funds. The detention was confirmed by MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki.

Bersatu treasurer Mohamed Salleh Bajuri

Similarly, Hamzah, who is also the opposition leader in Parliament, said that investigating Bersatu vendors was also seen as part of the ruling coalition’s political hunt against his party. “The Bersatu financial statements have been audited every year and approved at the annual general meeting. Nothing irregular was found in these financial statements which were certified by a certified auditor.

“Salleh, as an honest and trustworthy treasurer, ensured that all of Bersatu’s acquisitions went through the party’s financial processes and procedures,” he said. Hamzah then called on the Pakatan Harapan-BN government today to stop its endless political witch hunt against Bersatu.

“Accept the fact that Bersatu’s top leadership has not committed any wrongdoing under the law,” he added. Salleh has a background as a corporate member for several decades. He was appointed as the treasurer of the party in 2016. The arrest and remand of Salleh came following the charging of former Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan with corruption.

Last month, the MACC also recorded Bersatu president and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement regarding its ongoing investigation into the party’s frozen bank accounts.