Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent boast over fighting corruption is both “laughable and blatant hypocrisy”, lawyer Mahajoth Singh said.
He said this in light of the Attorney-General’s Chambers taking no further action (NFA) in Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi case.
“One cannot claim to be fighting corruption on the one hand while permitting unexplained exceptions at the very top of government on the other.
“That is hypocrisy and fraud upon the people,” he said in a statement today.
Mahajoth is the founder of Malaysians Against Governmental and Institutional Corruption (Magic), an independent advocacy initiative he established late last year due to frustrations with what he called the “government’s complicity in corruption”.
Other lawyers have expressed similar sentiments regarding Zahid’s case, such as former deputy law minister Hanipa Maidin, who also found the issue “laughable” and “hilarious”.
On Thursday (Jan 8), the AGC said no further action will be taken in relation to a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to Zahid on 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering related to funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
It said a review of all materials and new evidence found that there was insufficient evidence to continue prosecuting the case.
On Tuesday, Zahid reaffirmed that Umno would remain in the government until the end of the parliamentary term, prompting Kedah Menteri Besar Sanusi Nor to suggest that the former’s “legal burdens” had influenced the party’s decision.
‘Explain gap between rhetoric and action’
Commenting further, Mahajoth questioned MACC’s credibility and independence, saying that the agency faces questions over its selective action.
Anwar’s claim that his government has gone after former prime ministers and ministers is unconvincing, as such people were inevitably the premier’s political opponents, Mahajoth added.
He said such matters could not be brushed under the rug as legacy issues.
“They are present-day decisions, made under the current administration.
“Magic, therefore, calls upon the prime minister to explain the glaring gap between his anti-corruption rhetoric and outcomes that protect those in power,” he added.
He further contrasted Zahid’s case with that of his client, Albert Tei - the businessperson who exposed the Sabah mining scandal.
“How are Malaysians supposed to believe in firm enforcement when leaders linked to the massive mining-licence corruption in Sabah are back in positions of power?
“They were never prosecuted despite video evidence of corruption viewed by the whole country,” Mahajoth lamented.
Since November 2024, Tei has released a slew of videos, screenshots, and documents allegedly implicating leaders from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
He claimed that politicians accepted money from him in exchange for mineral exploration licences, which were later cancelled, prompting him to expose the scandal.
Tei has since been charged in court twice with giving bribes in connection with the scandal.
The first time occurred in June, alongside two GRS state assemblypersons. The second was with Anwar’s former senior political aide, Shamsul Iskandar Akin, in December. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.