Some news arrives softly, but lands like a blow to the nation’s stomach. The prosecution’s quiet withdrawal of its appeal against the acquittal of former self-styled “First Lady of Malaysia”, Rosmah Mansor, is one such moment.
There was no press conference. No justification. Not even a token attempt at transparency. It simply appeared in the legal record, barely a whisper and yet the impact reverberated like thunder.
You may or may not agree, but for many Malaysians, that moment felt like a betrayal. It was not the loud, dramatic kind, but the soft betrayal that cuts deeper because it comes from institutions that once promised reform.
Remember the promises that were made before we went to the polls in 2018, when we were assured that justice would be rebuilt, that transparency would be the norm, and that impunity among the elite was over?
Today, here we are again, watching a high-profile case vanish quietly. When the prosecution retreats without explanation, it withdraws more than an appeal. It withdraws trust.
Procedural failures
We read yesterday that the prosecution filed a notice on Nov 9 to retract its appeal, making the High Court’s earlier acquittal final.
Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, was acquitted in 2024 because the charges were defective. There was a failure to disclose essential elements required for money laundering and tax evasion offences.
Given the gravity of the allegations, Malaysians reasonably expected the appeal to proceed.
At a minimum, the public deserved a clear explanation, a full judicial re-examination, or reassurance that flaws in major cases will never again be allowed to undermine justice. Instead, we received silence.
This was a withdrawal that raises more questions than answers, with the main, simple unanswered question: Why?
Why was the appeal abandoned? Why was the public not told? Why was the explanation missing?
The likely reason, although it was never stated aloud, is that the prosecution believed the defective charges could not be salvaged. If this were the case, then the implications are troubling.
Were major charges against one of Malaysia’s most high-profile individuals drafted without sufficient legal rigour? If weaknesses were known earlier, why were they not corrected?
If the case was unwinnable, surely the public, whose taxes fund these institutions, deserves clarity.
The rakyat has every right to ask how many millions in taxpayer funds went into preparing a case that collapsed because of defective charges. This case stretched from 2018 to 2024, with the appeal spilling over into 2025.
Corrosive optics
Without transparency, suspicion grows, and suspicion left unaddressed corrodes public trust.
Perhaps the authorities are unaware, but the symbolism is corrosive. Rosmah is no ordinary defendant.
Fairly or unfairly, she has become a symbol of excess, entitlement, and the extravagant underside of Malaysian politics. Her name is forever tethered to the nation’s most damaging corruption scandal.
Thus, when the prosecution withdraws silently, the public does not see legal nuance. They see a system shrinking before the powerful. It’s what Malaysians have always believed: the super-elite escape scot free.
They recall how often elites appear shielded from full scrutiny. They remember the political tug-of-war over the imprisonment of the convicted felon, Najib, and the ongoing push by sections of his party to secure his release.
This includes public appeals by several Umno-Baru division heads urging that he be placed under house arrest, a move widely viewed as political pressure on the justice system.
In such a climate, even a technically valid withdrawal becomes politically radioactive.
Time to rise again
The Madani administration should realise that the public’s emotional reaction is justified. For years, Malaysians have endured the dizzying swings of major corruption trials; hope followed by delay, promise followed by disappointment.
The Rosmah case touches the rawest point of all: the sense that accountability is selective.
Her acquittal was not the result of a full evidentiary trial winning on merit; it was because procedural flaws shut the door before the case could walk in.
The rakyat’s anger is real. Malaysians are not demanding automatic convictions. They are demanding competence, consistency, and courage.
However, the system responded with cowardice when the institutions surrendered silently.
Despite the gloom, there is another way to see this moment; not as an ending, but as a spark.
Malaysia has risen before. In 2018, when Malaysians proved that they had had enough, they acted. While the years after that have been messy, the rakyat’s spirit has not died.
Rosmah’s acquittal, and the prosecution’s opaque handling of the appeal, could very well re-energise:
demands for prosecutorial independence
stronger anti-graft institutions
clear, transparent decision-making
an end to selective/two-tiered justice
reforms that survive beyond political cycles
Malaysians should not see this as a time for despair. Instead, it should be a unifying factor and a time for clarity and pressure.
The rakyat must again speak loudly and boldly as they did before 2018.
If justice steps aside quietly, then Malaysians must step forward loudly.
If institutions refuse to explain, the rakyat must demand answers.
If corruption is met with silence, the public must respond with scrutiny.
More importantly, Malaysians must now demand that their MPs act, speak, pressure, and represent. The rakyat has carried the burden long enough. Now, MPs must carry our voices into Parliament, not hide behind it.
Why? Because the fight against corruption was never about one woman. It is about the Malaysia we are building. Or, allowing to crumble.
Rosmah walks free, but Malaysia must not. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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