Isa off to jail as Federal Court reinstates graft conviction
Former Umno vice-president Isa Samad will begin serving his jail term today after the Federal Court reinstated his corruption convictions and imprisonment sentence this morning.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court found the former Felda chairperson guilty in 2021 and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment and a RM15.45 million fine. The Court of Appeal then acquitted him in 2024.
Today, the apex court’s three-judge panel, led by Nordin Hassan, allowed the prosecution’s appeal against Isa’s acquittal, finding that the Court of Appeal should not have disturbed the High Court’s verdict.
“Having perused all the evidence, we find that the trial (High Court) judge’s finding is supported by evidence and in accordance with the law.
“The ingredients of the offence under Section 16a(A) of the MACC Act 2009 of corruptly receiving money as a reward had been proven for all nine charges against the respondent (Isa) beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We find that the trial judge’s conviction for all nine charges is correct and safe,” said Nordin.
Subsequently, the panel issued a committal warrant against Isa, ordering him to be sent to prison. It is understood that he would be sent to Sungai Buloh Prison.
Family in grief
Isa, clad in a muted-brown suit, sat outside the dock throughout the proceeding and was visibly shaken at the panel’s verdict. Within seconds of the judgment’s delivery, he stood up from his seat, turned around, and looked behind him, towards his family.
However, he was escorted out of court as he was walking towards his family, who were seated in the gallery.
His wife, Bibi Sharliza Khalid, was visibly overwhelmed with emotions and was seen and heard wailing in the gallery, as their family members comforted her while holding her on the way out.
Isa was charged on Dec 14, 2018, with criminal breach of trust (CBT) over the purchase of the Merdeka Hotel & Suites in Kuching for RM160 million without the Felda board of directors’ approval.
The 77-year-old was also charged with nine counts of receiving kickbacks from Syarikat Gagasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd (GAPSB) director Ikhwan Zaidel, through his former special officer Zahid Arip, totalling RM3.09 million in cash.
The money was purportedly gratification for helping to approve Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd’s (FICSB) purchase of the hotel in Kuching.
He was acquitted of the CBT charge at the end of the prosecution’s case on June 16, 2020, but convicted for the remaining nine corruption charges in 2021.
Prosecution only needs to prove Isa received bribe
Nordin, in reading out the panel’s verdict, said that the Court of Appeal was wrong to hold that the prosecution needed to prove elements of solicitation.
He said this is because Isa was charged with and convicted of receiving gratification instead of solicitation.
“The Court of Appeal (in its judgment) required the prosecution to prove, among others, that the respondent had directed SP21 (Zahid) to obtain the money from SP16 (Ikhwan) to prove a prima facie case against the respondent.
“This is not required by the law to establish a prima facie case under Section 16a(A) of the MACC Act.
“In this regard, we emphasise that charges against the respondents are for receiving bribes, not soliciting money. The offences of soliciting gratification and receiving gratification are two distinct offences.
“The elements of solicitation need not be proven in an offence of receiving gratification. If the solicitation is proven, it further increases the likelihood of obtaining gratification.
“However, without the proof of solicitation, the offence of receiving gratification can be proven on its own.”
‘Isa failed to rebut presumption’
Nordin added that Isa’s defence, which maintained total denial against the corruption charges, had failed to rebut the presumption under Section 50(1) of the MACC Act.
“As the factor of receiving money by the respondent has been established, it triggers the presumption under Section 50(1) of the MACC Act.
“The money was corruptly received as a reward for the matter set out in the charges, which is a reward for assisting the purchase of MPHS by FICSB unless proved to the contrary.
“The application of the presumption by the trial judge in this case is not misplaced. On the other hand, we find that the Court of Appeal’s interpretation and application of the presumption under Section 50(1) to the facts of the present case is misconceived.”
‘Salam’ supports bribery evidence
The panel also found that Isa’s infamous “salam” codeword to Ikhwan, via intermediaries, expressed a different connotation.
“We do acknowledge that conveying ‘salam’ through an intermediary is a customary practice among Muslims.
“Still, in the context of the present case, the respondent, who was FICSB chairperson and was involved in the approval of the (hotel) purchase, conveyed his salam several times to SP16, who is the director and shareholder of GAPSB, which succeeded in the sale of (hotel purchase) through FICSB, expressed a different connotation.
“The respondent’s communication to SP21, together with ‘salam’, supported the evidence of solicitation or demand for the bribe money,” said Nordin, who presided over today’s panel together with judges Lee Swee Seng and Che Ruzima Ghazali.
Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz prosecuted, while lawyers M Athimulan and Abu Bakar Isa Ramat represented Isa in today’s proceedings.
