Ku Nan Blames Dr Mahathir For His RM2 Million Corruption Case

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Tengku Adnan — commonly known as Ku Nan — took to his Facebook yesterday, 22 July, to allege that Mahathir on multiple occasions tried to coax him to leave UMNO and join his "race traitors", a thinly veiled jab at Mahathir's then-party Bersatu.

“Why I was dragged to the court is no longer a secret. I'm one of the victims of selective prosecution because I refused to follow Tun's instructions. First, I was invited to join the race 'traitors', then it became overtures before becoming an instruction. In the end, the threats made against me (that if I did not switch camps) became a reality. I was charged in court on trumped-up charges," wrote the UMNO treasurer general.

Tengku Adnan also alleged that had he followed Mahathir's order, he would have been guaranteed a plum ministerial position under the Pakatan Harapan administration.

"In fact, any and all court cases against me would have been dropped. Is this not what happened to Lim Guan Eng's bribery charges even though the case was ongoing and 25 witnesses had already been called to the stand?" he wrote.

"I was slapped with a RM2 million corruption charge, and to everyone who knows me, this sum is way too small, and I suspect Tun knows this too," he wrote.

According to Ku Nan, when he was appointed a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department in 2000, his declared assets of RM980 million had even shocked Dr Mahathir.

Ku Nan claims that that figure is no longer applicable after many years of active politics, because he prefers to spend his own money instead of funds from the government or party.

He went on to accuse Mahathir of doing just the opposite, which he says is obvious when looking at his children, who allegedly benefitted from lucrative positions and government contracts given out by Mahathir.

"Maybe (his children) are all brilliant businessmen until they all became billionaires," he wrote sarcastically.

According to a report by The Edge, the RM2 million sum in question had entered into the account of a certain Tadmansori Sdn Bhd in early 2016. Tengku Adnan personally controls this company, as per court filings.

The money was deposited by a businessman who had been instructed by the UMNO man to fund their campaigns in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections. He had initially requested from the businessman a larger sum of RM5 to RM6 million.

Although found guilty of graft by the High Court last December, the case was referred to the Court of Appeal, which is the court of second instance in Malaysia.

In their ruling, a 2-1 split amongst the judges, they held that the money was proven to be for UMNO, and was not withdrawn by Ku Nan for his personal use.

Political donations of any sum are not technically illegal in Malaysia, but if it is proven to be improperly managed, individuals may be charged for graft.

The prosecution has already submitted an appeal to the Federal Court, as per Malay Mail, which is expected to be allowed and heard by the higher court at a later date.