Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s corruption trial began today with the defence questioning the prosecution’s first witness, MACC assistant enforcement officer Syawaludin Said, over the submission of edited TikTok videos as evidence.
During cross-examination, Muhyiddin’s counsel, Amer Hamzah Arshad, grilled the witness on whether he was aware of MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki stating last year that edited videos cannot be used as evidence.
The defence referred to a Malaysiakini article in which Azam was quoted as making the statement in relation to the Sabah mining scandal.
Earlier, Syawaludin testified during examination-in-chief that he had come across the two videos on Jan 17 and July 26 last year while scrolling through TikTok on his phone.
The MACC officer further testified that he was instructed by one of Ops Jana Wibawa’s investigating officers, Mazery Zaini, to download the videos as they were considered evidence.
“I was looking through TikTok videos on my phone (when I came across the two videos) where Muhyiddin was talking (about his charges).
“I can confirm that the audio (in one of the videos) belongs to Muhyiddin because he was the eighth prime minister, from 2020 till 2021, and I believe the voice is his.
“After seeing the videos, I reported them to the investigating officer, who then instructed me to download them,” Syawaludin said, before explaining the process of downloading the videos from TikTok and storing them in two separate pen drives.
The witness testified that he had copied each video onto two pen drives to ensure that if one pen drive was “disturbed”, the videos would remain intact on the other device.
The court then played the videos.
Defence questions authenticity of TikTok clips
The first, which Syawaludin came across in January, was uploaded by TikTok user “puterishantek”. It featured audio of Muhyiddin’s voice talking about his case, played over a graphic claiming PAS was distancing itself from Perikatan Nasional.
The clip - in which Muhyiddin denies abusing his power, taking bribes, or that funds went to Bersatu - ended with a loud clang, similar to a gunshot.
Meanwhile, the second video, uploaded by user “wanhadi21”, compared two clips of Muhyiddin’s speeches, in which he also denied receiving funds.
When questioned about Azam’s statement regarding the admissibility of edited videos during cross-examination, Syawaludin said he was aware of the statement but was unsure whether it was the MACC chief commissioner who had made it.
The witness then confirmed that he had told investigating officers the videos were edited, but disagreed with Amer’s contention that edited videos are not credible.
Syawaludin also testified that he did not follow the two TikTok accounts from which he obtained the videos, and that he was unsure whether the account holders were cybertroopers, as the videos had appeared on his TikTok feed.
The witness agreed with Amer’s contention that he neither pursued nor took any initiative to contact the account holders, and that he did not investigate the videos beyond downloading them.
Earlier, the defence objected to the videos being submitted as evidence, arguing that their authenticity was unproven and that the videos were unreliable.
The court, however, admitted the videos for “convenience’s sake”.
“For convenience’s sake, I’ll mark the videos (as evidence) for now, just to save time. The prosecution still has the burden to prove the authenticity of the video,” said judge Noor Ruwena Nurdin.
Jana Wibawa charges
Muhyiddin was charged with four counts of abuse of power under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, involving RM255.3 million.
He was also charged with three counts of money laundering under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The charges relate to Jana Wibawa, which was introduced while he was prime minister between 2020 and 2021 to accelerate project implementation and boost the country’s economy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trial continues tomorrow. - Mkini
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