Bersatu Youth chief Hilman Idham said that if this were true, Anwar may have flouted the law, including Section 165 of the Penal Code, which deals with a “public servant obtaining any valuable thing, without consideration, from a person concerned in any proceeding or business transacted” by such public servant.
The Gombak Setia assemblyman likened it with the corruption charges slapped on Singapore’s former transport minister S Iswaran, saying that Iswaran was convicted under Section 165 of the city-state’s Penal Code.
“The provision that is in effect in Singapore is the same as that in Malaysia, because both Malaysia and Singapore’s (Penal Code) were based on English common law,” he said in a statement.
“The prime minister’s admission in Parliament yesterday has sparked questions and concerns as to whether the prime minister or government will help these companies in return following their willingness to partly cover the costs of the trips.
“We urge the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to initiate an investigation based on the prime minister’s statement.”
Hilman said MACC could launch an investigation under Section 16 of the MACC Act for the offence of accepting gratification.
Iswaran, 62, began his one-year prison sentence on Oct 7 after pleading guilty to four counts of receiving gifts worth over S$400,000 and one of obstructing justice.
The investigation centred on allegations that he accepted lavish gifts from a businessman that included tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, London musicals, and a ride on a private jet.
Yesterday, Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that several companies had subsidised the cost of his working visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Brazil and Qatar, which also included representatives from the firms in question.
The prime minister said the likes of Petronas, Sapura Energy, Yinson, and Proton had borne 70% to 80% of the cost.
In December 2022, just a month after Anwar took office, the Treasury issued a circular stating that the cost of civil servants’ overseas trips involving any procurement cannot be borne by private companies.
The circular said the costs of such trips must be predetermined and included in the contract with the successful tenderer.