(Sept 29): After being sentenced to a year's jail for corruption, former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo apologised to his family, friends and supporters for embarrassing them, but maintained that he was innocent.

In a posting uploaded on his blog soon after the Federal Court sentenced him, Dr Khir also said that he had forgiven the Umno leader who had hired a photographer to make the property look like a “palace” in an aerial shot, saying that the reality was that, it was not among the biggest houses in the neighbourhood.

He also said that throughout the trial, the prosecutor had never produced any evidence to prove corruption.

Dr Khir added that he never rewarded anyone with any project or contract for the house, which he had paid RM3.5 million, a sum that was said to be “low” by the prosecutor.

"That was how keen the then Attorney-General was in wanting to jail me.

"I don't know if my home will be seized," he wrote.

Dr Khir, who is also a dentist, said when he had intended to buy the partially-built property, he had informed the prime minister, the Selangor state secretary and also the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

"I bought the house with a bank loan and asked for a valuation to be done.

"I still have an outstanding loan amount of RM2 million, does this show I'm corrupt?"

Dr Khir was charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court in December 2010, with corruption involving the purchase of two lots of land and a bungalow in Section 7, Shah Alam.

He was accused of obtaining for himself and his wife, Zahrah Kechik, the plots and the house at No. 8 and 10, Jalan Suasa 7/1L, in Shah Alam, from Ditamas Sdn Bhd through one of its directors, Shamsuddin Hayroni.

He committed the offence at the official residence of the Selangor menteri besar in Shah Alam on May 29, 2007.

The High Court had convicted and sentenced Dr Khir to 12 months' prison in December 2011, and this was upheld by the Court of Appeal and by the Federal Court today. – The Malaysian Insider