KUALA LUMPUR: Chants of "Hidup Abah", "Tolak Kezaliman" and "Kami Sayang Abah" were heard as Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was escorted out of the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex here about 11.55am today.
About 300 people gathered outside the courts complex at 8.30am in a show of support for the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president.
Some donned white T-shirts with the words "Kami Bersama Abah", while others wore red headbands with the hashtag #Abah.
They gathered outside the courts complex as the main gates leading to the court's lobby were closed to the public for security reasons.
They waited for Muhyiddin to post his RM2 million bail, which took almost three hours.
While waiting, the crowd chanted "Tolak Pakatan Harapan" and "Hidup Perikatan Nasional".
Supporter Bukhari Hashim, 30, who departed from Terengganu at midnight, said he believed the charges against Muhyiddin were politically motivated.
"We know our 'Abah' is not guilty. This is an attempt to taint his good image that was built and strengthened during his tenure while handling the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
"He administered the country well and some people were jealous of that. They don't have other ideas on how to implicate him, so this is the only way to bring him down.
"And we hope, with God's help, that Muhyiddin will be freed. We know, and even the rakyat knows, that the charges are baseless."
Muhyiddin, 76, was charged with six counts of money laundering and corruption amounting to RM472.5 million today
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He was scheduled to be charged again at the Shah Alam Sessions Court on Monday.
While Muhyiddin was exiting the court, supporters surrounded his car parked outside the complex.
Chants of "Hidup! Hidup! Hidup Abah!" grew louder as Muhyiddin and his entourage, consisting of his family members, approached the crowd.
Despite the heavy police presence, a large group of the supporters were in a brief altercation with some photographers as they wanted to get a good view of Muhyiddin.
Muhyiddin, too, did not miss any chance to chant "Lawan Tetap Lawan!" and "Takbir, Allahuakbar!" before he was ferried away.
When he arrived at the courts complex at 8.40am, Muhyiddin was accompanied by his wife, Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman , and Bersatu leaders, including party supreme council member Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, as well as Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal and many others.
His supporters came in two buses that arrived at the courts complex much earlier. They began chanting "Bebas Abah!" at the sight of Muhyiddin's car arriving at the courthouse.
Former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun was also seen arriving at the courts complex about 8.15am, while Muhyiddin's children were seen walking in about 8.20am.
