Asyraf Mohd Fauzi, 36, is alleged to have accepted the bribe in the form of cash from Faizul Mohd Zin, with the intention of helping Giching Maju Enterprise obtain a cleaning contract and for the supply of sugar cane seedlings in connection with the programme.

He was alleged to have committed the offence at a bank in Sentul Raya, in Kuala Lumpur, between Nov 10 and Dec 21, 2021.

The charge is framed under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and is punishable under Section 24(1) of the Act.

If convicted, the accused may face a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe involved in the offence, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Asyraf pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to him at the sessions court here.

Deputy public prosecutor Irna Julieza Maaras asked the court to post bail in the sum of RM20,000 and for the accused to surrender his passport until the case is over.

However, defence counsel Saleh Ahmad who represented the accused, submitted that Asyraf had already posted RM8,000 bail for two earlier charges made against him at the Shah Alam sessions court and appealed for a reduced bail amount, citing that the accused is married and has four children.

He said the accused is still a civil servant, and currently serves as the general manager of another farmer’s organisation based in Gombak.

Judge Suzana Hussin set bail at RM5,000 with one surety and ordered Asyraf to surrender his passport to the court and report personally to the MACC’s office once a month.

Earlier, the court allowed the prosecution to transfer over the two similar charges brought against the accused from the Shah Alam sessions court.

This was after Saleh confirmed that an agreement had been reached with the prosecution on the transfer of the cases.

The court set May 24 as the next mention date.