A Malaysian court on Friday, August 7th, 2026, deferred charges against former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was unable to attend his hearing in a multimillion-dollar misconduct investigation due to health problems. The 66-year-old was admitted to hospital for a heart condition and is scheduled to undergo a pacemaker procedure.

Ismail Sabri has faced accusations following the arrests of a senior aide and others last February over alleged abuse of power and money laundering. Authorities seized approximately 170 million ringgit (US$41.5 million) in cash and 16 kilograms of gold ingots worth an estimated 7 million ringgit, stored at an office believed to be a safe house used by Ismail Sabri’s aide.

Amer Hamzah Arshad, Ismail Sabri’s lawyer, confirmed his client’s absence from the Kuala Lumpur sessions court hearing and reported that Sabri was hospitalized the previous day after experiencing a health issue during questioning by anti-corruption officers. Sabri was also briefly hospitalized two weeks earlier following a fall.

Ismail Sabri is the latest senior politician caught up in the government’s anti-misconduct crackdown under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Sources

South China Morning Post World