SHAH ALAM: Bersatu is considering legal action against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over its frozen funds.
The party's president, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said they are also planning to sue the bank holding their two accounts for refusing to release the funds.
"I have discussed this (with Bersatu's lawyer) and I've asked the lawyer to carefully consider taking action against the authorities, as well as against the bank that is preventing us from accessing our funds," he said at a press conference after Bersatu's annual general assembly.
He said the bank's refusal to allow Bersatu to use its account or open a new one was "unjust" and "unfair."
Muhyiddin said the party's lawyers recently attended a hearing in court where the judge postponed making a ruling on Bersatu's bid to challenge MACC's decision to freeze its funds.
The next hearing is scheduled for Jan 23, 2025.
He said their demand for the return and reactivation of their account is justified under the law which states accounts can only be frozen for 12 months.
"Even then, it is not appropriate, they (authorities) continued to freeze the account after 12 months.
"We believe this action is illegal and could even be considered an abuse of power. No agency, including the MACC, can violate what is stipulated by law," he said.
As a large political organisation, he said Bersatu has never been charged with any wrongdoing and should not be subjected to such treatment.
He said the party is still active and a lack of access to their funds could affect their operations.
"As we mentioned just now, we collected (funds) from members and in the end, we were able to pay for our assembly, which cost us around RM400,000. It is not cheap.
"This is very bad. To me, it is a violation of our constitution and the law, and it should not be allowed to continue," he said.
Earlier today, Bersatu treasurer-general Datuk Seri Rina Harun described the party's finances as "critical" as its funds remained frozen.
On Feb 1 last year, the MACC confirmed that Bersatu's accounts were frozen as part of investigations into the party's source of funds.
The probe was conducted under the MACC Act and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.
The investigation is linked to the alleged misappropriation of funds for Covid-19 stimulus packages amounting to RM92.5 billion by the former Perikatan Nasional-led government.
Subsequently, Bersatu filed an application in the High Court to challenge MACC's decision to freeze its accounts.
NST has reached out to MACC for comment.