Second former Malaysian general charged this week in corruption crackdown

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A former chief of Malaysia's armed forces was charged Friday with four corruption offenses, becoming the second former general hauled to court this week as the government intensify a crackdown on graft in defense contracts.

Mohamad Nizam Jaafar, 59, pleaded not guilty to two counts of abusing his position, one count of criminal breach of trust and another count of accepting gifts.

The charge sheet alleged he abused his position as chairman of the Armed Forces Welfare Fund’s executive committee in 2024 by steering contracts for festive gift supplies to five companies in exchange for over 550,000 ringgit ($118,000). The companies supplied items including batik cloth, backpacks and towels.

He was also accused of criminal breach of trust for allegedly investing 3 million ringgit ($640,000) from the welfare fund into a company without approval from the fund’s investment committee. The fourth charge alleged he accepted 200,000 ringgit ($43,000) from a company director linked to his official duties as armed forces chief last year.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and heavy fines.

His prosecution came a day after another former army chief, Hafizuddiean Jantan, was charged with laundering more than 2.1 million ringgit ($519,000). Hafizuddiean on Friday was slapped with two more counts of receiving another 145,000 ringgit ($36,200) in illegal proceeds. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The cases are believed to be the first involving chiefs of the army and armed forces, the military’s most senior leadership posts.

Investigators have found that a cluster of firms repeatedly secured high‑value army procurement contracts, and local reports said initial investigations found companies paid bribes to senior officers to obtain supply and maintenance projects. The corruption investigation has prompted the government to tighten oversight of defense contracts.