KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was summoned to appear at the country's anti-graft agency on Thursday (March 9), following allegations of abuse in stimulus programmes launched under his premiership.

In a Facebook post, Mr Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, said he has been called into the headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at 11am on Thursday. He did not say why.

He also denied a news report that he was arrested on Wednesday.

"I want to clarify that news that I was arrested on the golf course, as what is claimed by a news portal, is not true," he said in a Facebook post, adding that he attended several meetings on Wednesday related to the annual general assembly of his party Bersatu which will begin on Friday.

"However, tomorrow I have been asked to go to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya at 11am," said Mr Muhyiddin, who is also chairman of the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

Mr Muhyiddin did not say why he was being called to MACC headquarters, but Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Faiz Na'aman had earlier told the New Straits Times that Mr Muhyiddin was to have his statement recorded.

It was learnt that Mr Muhyiddin has been summoned over the Jana Wibawa scandal.

The Jana Wibawa scheme was introduced by the government under Mr Muhyiddin's administration to speed up project implementation and boost the country's economy during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The scheme was also intended to increase the capacity of Bumiputera/Malay contractors in the construction industry to be more competitive, resilient and potential.

Bersatu had allegedly received RM300 million (S$90 million) from awarded contractors under the said programme, as political funding following "an agreement" they purportedly made with some of the party members, including those serving under Muhyiddin's administration at the time.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year ordered a review of government projects worth billions of dollars approved by Mr Muhyiddin, including Covid-19 relief programmes, alleging they did not follow proper procedures.

Mr Muhyiddin, who is now in the opposition, has denied the accusations, describing them as political vendetta.

Mr Anwar's office and the MACC did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Mr Anwar and Mr Muhyiddin went head-to-head in a tightly contested election in November that resulted in a hung parliament as neither candidate won a parliamentary majority.

Malaysia's constitutional monarch, King Al-Sultan Abdullah, then appointed Mr Anwar as prime minister after he formed a coalition with other political parties.

Since the election, Mr Muhyiddin and his party have been subject to graft investigations.

Two leaders belonging to Mr Muhyiddin's party have been charged by the MACC with bribery over an economic recovery project launched by his government.

In February, Malaysian media reported that MACC had also questioned Mr Muhyiddin over a report that claimed a government contract worth more than a RM1 billion was handed to his relative.

The MACC has also frozen bank accounts belonging to Mr Muhyiddin's party. AGENCIES