KUALA LUMPUR: Warisan’s Labuan MP Rozman Isli pleaded not guilty in the sessions court here today to a charge of abuse of power in awarding a government contract to his family members.
He was accused under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act with using his position as then Labuan Port Authority deputy chairman to appoint a company which has links to his family members.
The offence is alleged to have taken place at the transport ministry in Putrajaya on March 2, 2018.
If convicted, Rozman faces a maximum jail sentence of 20 years and a minimum fine of RM10,000.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told judge Rozina Ayob that both the prosecution and the defence agreed for bail to be set at RM100,000 in one surety.
Rozman’s lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, confirmed this.
Rozina set bail at RM100,000 and said the bailor should be someone who lives in the peninsula, after the defence informed the court that Rozman’s assistant will be putting up the bail.
The court fixed Nov 19 as the next mention date.
Yesterday, Rozman claimed that the government was trying to damage his reputation before the next general election.
He alleged that the charge was being filed after the government failed to persuade him to leave Warisan and cross over to the other side.-FMT