Justice Jamil Hussin ruled that three legal issues were likely to arise in the course of the trial which the High Court should address.
“The three legal issues that will arise are extraordinary legal issues.
“Although I have full confidence that the sessions court judge has the legal knowledge and expertise to handle this case, it is more expedient for the three legal issues to be determined by the High Court,” he said.
The first issue revolves around whether the trial judge can rely on both legal presumptions against an accused under Sections 23(2) and 50(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 if the prosecutors can establish the underlying facts.
The second issue is whether, in law, the monies allegedly received by Bersatu constituted legitimate political donations or unacceptable gratification.
The third legal issue is whether the term “organisation” as defined in the MACC Act can be construed to include a political party.
Jamil said Muhyiddin had met the threshold set by Section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code to allow a transfer from the sessions to the High Court.
The judge then told parties that the court registrar would determine which High Court judge would preside over the trial.
The court fixed July 14 for case management.
MACC legal and prosecution division head Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin appeared for the prosecution, while senior lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik represented the Bersatu president.
Muhyiddin, 78, was charged in the sessions court with abusing his power as prime minister in connection with the Jana Wibawa programme by seeking to obtain RM232 million for his party, Bersatu, in 2021.
He was also charged with two counts of receiving money from illegal activities, amounting to RM195 million from Bukhary Equity, which was deposited in Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account.
He was also charged in the Shah Alam sessions court in March 2023 with receiving money from illegal activities amounting to RM5 million. The case was later transferred to the sessions court here for a joint trial.