Radzi denies graft, wife acting as proxy allegations

SHAH ALAM - Former education senior minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin has denied being involved in a corruption investigation on a direct negotiation project worth RM80 million.

In a statement today, the Putrajaya MP said the allegation linking his wife Datin Balkis Zakaria as a proxy for a company involved in the project was also untrue.

"I would like to emphasise that the accusation in a viral message on WhatsApp linking my wife to the printing of J-Qaf books for preschool is not true at all.

"My wife is also not from a royal family and has no connection or interest in the company mentioned," he said.

Radzi added that a legal action will also be taken against any party that repeated or republished the baseless accusations.

He also confirmed that his officials were arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with the case.

Radzi claimed that the arrest of his former political secretary was allegedly made on the grounds that the latter was said to be involved in the matter and based on a nonsense WhatsApp text that had gone viral on social media.

"I insist that I had never asked for or received either directly or through any other person any bribe or graft from anyone at all," he said.

Earlier, it was reported that a former political secretary to a former senior minister was among two people remanded on suspicion of soliciting and accepting bribes in relation to the approval of a book printing project worth approximately RM80 million involving a ministry through direct negotiation.

A source claimed that the two male suspects had allegedly been arrested yesterday at around 11pm after having their statements recorded at the MACC office in Putrajaya.