After a court process that dragged on for nearly seven years, the long arm of the law has finally closed in on Tan Sri Isa Samad.
In a landmark decision that carries deep symbolic weight for Malaysia’s fight against corruption, the Federal Court has reinstated the six-year prison sentence and RM15.45 million fine imposed on the former minister, overturning his earlier acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
Source:
At 76, Isa will now begin serving his jail term following the unanimous decision by a three-member Federal Court bench led by Datuk Nordin Hassan, with Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali concurring. The ruling marks a dramatic legal reversal and sends a clear message: power, position and time do not place anyone above accountability.
Delivering the decision, Nordin held that the trial judge’s conviction was firmly supported by evidence and that the Court of Appeal had erred in setting it aside. Central to the case was Isa’s role as chairman of Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FICSB) during the controversial purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites (MPHS) in Kuching. The court found that Isa had used an intermediary to solicit political funds from a businessman whose company stood to benefit directly from the deal.
The intermediary, Isa’s former special political officer Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, was not acting on a personal gain, the court ruled. It was “highly improbable” that Zahid would have demanded such substantial sums on his own initiative. “It requires a person in authority to solicit or demand such a substantial amount. In the present case, the respondent is that person,” Nordin said.
One of the more striking aspects of the judgment was the court’s analysis of context and conduct. Isa had argued that he merely conveyed “salam” greetings, a customary practice among Muslims. However, the Federal Court rejected this narrow interpretation, stressing that context matters. In this case, repeated references and surrounding circumstances transformed what might otherwise be an innocent gesture into evidence supporting solicitation.
Crucially, the court held that all elements of the offences were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that Isa failed to rebut the presumption under Section 50(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act. The Court of Appeal, it said, had misapplied the law and failed to properly assess the facts, warranting Federal Court intervention.
Upholding the punishment, the bench did not mince its words. Corruption, the court reiterated, is a “heinous act that can destroy a nation.” The sentence - six years’ imprisonment for each charge, to run concurrently, and a total fine of RM15.45 million - was described as appropriate and in accordance with the law.
Isa was first charged on Dec 14, 2018, with one count of criminal breach of trust and nine counts of receiving gratification involving more than RM3 million, offences allegedly committed between July 2014 and December 2015 at Menara Felda, KLCC. Although the Court of Appeal acquitted him on March 6, 2024, that reprieve has now decisively ended.
Beyond one man’s downfall, the ruling carries wider implications. It helps restore public faith shaken by years of delays and reversals, and reinforces a vital principle: justice may be slow, but when properly applied, it will eventually catch up with powerful politicians. In Isa Samad’s case, after seven long years, the law has finally caught up.
By: Kpost
Information Source:
Kpost (ckhorsk@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
