This morning, Malaysians woke up to news of former prime minister Ismail Sabri having his day in court after he was charged of not complying with a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) notice to declare his assets.
Ex-PM Ismail Sabri Charged For Not Declaring Assets To MACC
In light of this developing story, here’s an extensive timeline of events of how the ninth prime minister found himself pleading not guilty in court, which all began from a fateful Parliament session.
1. RM700mil revelation
On Nov 7, 2023, prime minister Anwar Ibrahim had some shocking figures to share in Parliament: a staggering RM700 million was spent on promotion and publicity work from 2020 to 2022.
He added that out of this amount, more than RM500 million was spent during Muhyiddin Yassin’s tenure as prime minister, while Ismail Sabri spent the remaining amount when he was at the helm.
2. MACC springs into action
Following Anwar’s revelation, MACC made its first move by ordering Sabri to declare his assets under Section 36(1) of the MACC Act 2009 on Dec 11, 2024.
This was to facilitate investigations involving the procurement and use of public funds for promotional and publicity activities during his time as prime minister, notably activities associated with the “Keluarga Malaysia” programme.
On Jan 10, 2025, Sabri gave a statement to MACC regarding the matter.
3. Arrests & forfeiture
A month later, Sabri officially declared his assets to MACC, with the anti-graft agency saying that he may be summoned again to assist ongoing investigations.
In the same month, MACC officers seized more than RM100 million in cash during a raid on a home belonging to Sabri’s former aide, where the cash was found in ‘multiple bags and safes’ in several rooms.
Officers also seized 16kg of gold bullion worth about RM7 million.
Aside from the cash, then MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said four individuals who served as aides to Sabri while he was prime minister were arrested for alleged corruption and money laundering.
Throughout this time, Sabri was recuperating at a hospital in Kota Damansara after he collapsed at his home due to high blood pressure.
On March 3, Sabri was officially named a suspect in MACC’s investigation into the RM700 million funds spent under the “Keluarga Malaysia” promotion campaign, with Azam saying:
Firstly, Section 36 [of the MACC Act] was provided to him for him to declare his assets, and secondly, when the cash was found, he was among those associated, so we must get his clarification on the discovery of the cash found.”
When June rolled around, Azam said MACC had completed its investigations and submitted investigation papers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
However, he added that no decision was made on whether to press criminal charges against Sabri, saying that MACC is instead looking to seek forfeiture of approximately RM170 million in seized cash.
On Sept 9, 2025, MACC confirmed that Sabri and his former political secretary decided not to contest the prosecution’s application to forfeit the funds.
Thus, this paved the way for the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to formally order the cash to be forfeited to the government on Oct 1, 2025.
4. Charged in court
Initially, Sabri was scheduled to be charged on Aug 7, 2026, but it had to be postponed after he was rushed to the National Heart Institute (IJN) a day before.
According to Sabri’s lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, he said Sabri experienced health complications while having his statement recorded by the MACC on Aug 6.
He added doctors suspected the former prime minister had an irregular heartbeat and that he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to have a pacemaker implanted.
On Aug 27, Sabri was formally charged in court for failing to declare his assets, which comprised of various local and foreign currencies and jewellery.
He faces a maximum five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to RM100,000 upon conviction under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009.
Sabri pleaded not guilty and was granted bail at RM300,000 in one surety by the court, who fixed Sept 29 for case mention.
Sabri’s lawyer said the legal team is also looking to file a challenge against the charge levied towards Sabri, saying the move was to raise “certain concerns about the propriety and legality of the charge.”
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