Malaysia has charged a former senior aide to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with accepting bribes, raising new questions about the government’s anti-graft commitments.

According to court documents, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, who resigned as Anwar’s senior political secretary last week, was charged with receiving 176,829 ringgit ($42,961) from a local businessman in exchange for assistance in obtaining mineral mining licenses in Sabah state, among other alleged favours.

Government Response

Shamsul Iskandar pleaded not guilty and was granted bail pending trial, his lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad told Reuters.

He has vowed to defend himself from what he called an “attack”.

Anwar ‘s office declined to comment on the case. In a statement last week, Anwar said he accepted Shamsul Iskandar’s resi

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