Malaysia: Legal actions involve civil defence fraud and NGO arrests

Several legal and investigative actions are underway in Malaysia involving allegations of financial misconduct and regulatory violations.

Two Civil Defence officers, Mohamad Ihsan Said and Radzmil Saadan, have been charged in Tawau for allegedly submitting false claims for duty allowances. The claims, totaling nearly RM30,000 between late 2022 and early 2023, were related to security patrols and disaster monitoring.

In Kota Bharu, a Sessions Court issued an arrest warrant for Pui Tiong Lam, a wholesale cooking oil business owner and NGO chairman. Pui failed to appear in court to face 42 charges related to the failure to maintain stock records for subsidized cooking oil and failing to produce required documents. He faces a total of 72 charges.

Separately, police have detained two directors of the Mandiri Development Centre under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. The investigation follows reports of suspected unlawful funds received by the NGO between 2024 and 2026. This arrest has drawn criticism from local representatives, who expressed concern regarding the potential intimidation of civil society and activists.