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 hospitalization for a heart condition.

Ismail Sabri, 66, faces accusations linked to alleged abuse of power and money laundering following the arrests of a senior aide and others last February. Authorities seized approximately 170 million ringgit (US$41.5 million) in cash and 16 kilograms of gold ingots valued at about 7 million ringgit from an office believed to be a safe house used by the former leader’s aide.

Amer Hamzah Arshad, Ismail Sabri’s lawyer, stated that his client was taken to hospital the day before after experiencing a health problem during questioning by anti-corruption officers. Amer informed reporters that Ismail Sabri was scheduled to undergo a pacemaker procedure on the afternoon of August 7th. Additionally, Ismail Sabri had been briefly hospitalized two weeks earlier following a fall.

The 66-year-old 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