KUALA LUMPUR: A Bersatu supreme council member will take over as information chief following the resignation of Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, says party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said Wan Saiful’s resignation from the post was with immediate effect as per the letter he sent.
“Wan Saiful stated that he wanted to resign and I appreciated it. In fact, it was voluntary – which I think is admirable.
“His responsibilities will be taken up by a supreme council member whom I will announce soon,” he told reporters after attending a Perikatan Nasional charity initiative in aid of Turkiye and Syria in Parliament House here yesterday.
Muhyiddin said the Tasek Gelugor MP’s resignation as information chief did not imply guilt of the graft charges he was slapped with, adding that he met with Wan Saiful yesterday on the issue.
“This is the standard we are showing when (our leaders) are faced with charges,” said Muhyiddin.
Earlier, Wan Saiful held a brief press conference at the Parliament lobby to announce his intention to resign as Bersatu information chief.
He said this was in line with his principles and he would not hold any executive position in the party until his graft charges were disposed of.
Wan Saiful, 48, was charged on Tuesday with soliciting for himself a bribe from an individual as an inducement for him to assist Nepturis Sdn Bhd obtain a project called “Central Spine Road: Sertik Ke Persimpangan Lebuhraya Pantai Timur (CH 0-CH 8050)” from the government through a pre-qualification with the total amount valued at RM232mil.
On the second charge, Wan Saiful allegedly received for himself a bribe of RM6.96mil through a CIMB account belonging to his company, WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, from the Maybank account of Nepturis.
The money was allegedly an inducement for Wan Saiful to assist Nepturis obtain an acceptance letter for the Central Spine Road project.
The charges were framed under Section 16a(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.