KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Businessman Shahrin Shamsuddin today told the High Court that he only discovered his elder brother, Shahradzi, had used part of their family-operated company’s RM13.772 million to donate to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) after the donations had already been made.
Shahrin said this while testifying as the 15th prosecution witness in Bersatu president and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s power abuse and money laundering trial.
He said he had intended the money to be used instead to pay the operating costs and outstanding debts of several family-owned companies.
Shahrin is the managing director and owner of Bumiputera construction company Sutracom Sdn Bhd, which was awarded a RM605.2 million contract in October 2022 to build and upgrade a highway in Pulau Indah, Selangor under the government’s Jana Wibawa programme.
After receiving security deposits totalling RM14.5 million from Sutracom’s subcontractors in 10 transactions between September 2021 and November 2022, Shahrin transferred RM13.772 million from Sutracom to his brother’s company, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, through nine transactions during the same period.
Shahrin said it was only during a family meeting to discuss the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into Sutracom that he learnt Shahradzi had used part of the RM13.772 million transferred to Mamfor to make donations to Bersatu.
However, he said he did not know how much had been donated.
“I’m not sure of the breakdown of the total funds that Shahradzi used to pay the family companies’ debts and operating costs and to donate to PPBM as he never informed me, and I have given the trust to him to handle the settling of my family’s companies’ old debts and operating costs,” he told the High Court.
Asked by deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Jumaat, Shahrin said his elder brother had never told him what the RM13.7 million would be used for or that any of it would be donated to Bersatu.
He also said he had never given permission for any of the RM13.7 million to be donated to Bersatu.
Shahrin said neither he nor his elder brother belonged to any political party, and that he personally had never donated to any political party, including Bersatu.
Asked by High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin about his own political contributions, Shahrin said he preferred to “donate” by casting his vote after assessing political parties’ policies, direction and the credibility of their candidates.
Previously in the trial, Mamfor was revealed to have donated RM19.5 million to Bersatu through 29 cheques between August 2021 and November 2022. A bank officer testified that the transactions were unusual because the company had repeatedly issued RM500,000 cheques on the same day.
About transferring money among family’s companies and letting brother manage debts
Shahrin said the RM13.7 million was intended to settle debts owed by Sutracom, Mamfor – wholly owned by Shahradzi – and Bumiputera construction company Majulia Sdn Bhd, which is owned by his younger brother and mother.
Although the companies had different registered addresses and were headed by different family members, Shahrin said his elder brother had taken the initiative during the Covid-19 pandemic to manage the family companies’ debts by dealing with creditors.
Explaining why he had no reason to question transferring Sutracom’s RM13.7 million to Mamfor as an “advance”, Shahrin said the amount was within the range of the companies’ total debts and that he believed his elder brother was simply carrying out his responsibility.
Under questioning from defence lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Shahrin said that it was “common” and “not unusual” for the family-owned companies to transfer money among themselves.
Although Sutracom, Mamfor and Majulia are each owned by different family members, Shahrin said he still regarded them as family companies.
For example, although he owns 100 per cent of Sutracom’s shares according to Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) records, he said the company belongs to the business itself, and that his shareholding simply meant he bore full responsibility for its operations.
Shahrin says Muhyiddin never contacted him, does not know then-PM personally
Earlier, Shahrin said his elder brother had prepared a letter dated March 5, 2021 to then-prime minister Muhyiddin expressing Sutracom’s interest in joining the pre-qualification tender for the Pulau Indah project, using Sutracom’s letterhead and signing on his behalf for convenience.
He later explained that the letter merely introduced the company’s intention to apply for the project and did not guarantee it would be awarded the contract, as the procurement process still involved tenders or quotations.
Under questioning from another defencelawyer Datuk K. Kumaraendran, Shahrin said he did not personally know Muhyiddin.
He also confirmed that Muhyiddin had no connection with, or financial interest in, Sutracom, Mamfor or Majulia.
Shahrin said Sutracom won the RM605,217,790 Pulau Indah project on its own merits, as he believed the company had the financial strength, technical capability, experience, track record and qualified personnel required.
Based on former finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s earlier testimony, the Pulau Indah project was among the Jana Wibawa projects that Muhyiddin had approved to be awarded through a pre-qualification tender.
When questioned by Amer Hamzah, Shahrin confirmed he had never received any phone calls from Muhyiddin or officers from the Prime Minister’s Office during the contractor evaluation process.
He also agreed that Muhyiddin had never asked about Sutracom’s application for the project or whether the company had received interim payments from the government for completed work.
Shahrin confirmed he had never contacted Muhyiddin personally, nor had Muhyiddin ever contacted him personally.
He added that Sutracom has completed 83.3 per cent of the Pulau Indah project and is ahead of schedule.
In this trial, Muhyiddin faces seven charges — four counts of allegedly abusing his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for Bersatu (from Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Azman Yusoff, Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd), and three counts of money laundering involving funds Bersatu allegedly received from Bukhary Equity.
The trial resumes tomorrow.
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Date: 14 July, 2026 7:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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