Former Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin arrested on corruption charges

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The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on 9 March arrested former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on the charges of corruption.

An overview of the news

• Muhyiddin, who was Malaysia's prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, has been charged under laws related to abuse of power and money laundering.

• He and his party have faced a corruption investigation after losing the November election to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

• Prime Minister Ibrahim last year ordered a review of billions of dollars of government projects approved by Muhyiddin, including Covid-19 relief programmes, alleging that he did not follow proper procedures.

• Muhyiddin, who is also chairman of Barsatu, a major opposition party in Malaysia's ruling coalition, would be the second former prime minister to be indicted.

• Another former Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, is also serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption.

About Malaysia

• Prime Minister - Anwar Ibrahim

• Capital - Kuala Lumpur

• Currency - Malaysian ringgit

• Official Language - Malay

• Official Religion - Islam