Zain Hamid, 48, was accused of accepting kickbacks from a company owner when he was with the council, which has since been elevated to municipal status.

He pleaded not guilty before judge Azura Alwi.

Zain, who was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, faces a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, if convicted.

In a statement, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said Zain had allegedly accepted bribes from Azizul Abd Majid, owner of Kenali Yakin Enterprise, in the form of eight payments made to his girlfriend’s account totalling RM9,000.

He is also alleged to have accepted three payments for his credit card bills totalling RM13,100 from Azizul.

The alleged bribes were kickbacks for helping companies linked to Azizul to bid for jobs at the council, MACC said.

The offences were allegedly committed between Sept 28, 2018 and May 6, 2020.

Azura set bail at RM10,000, ordered Zain to surrender his passport to the court and report to the nearest MACC office every month.

Case management has been fixed for Oct 26.