IF JHO LOW CAN BE CHARGED IN ABSENTIA, WHY NOT APANDI: BEST ARE ON SITTING AG TOMMY WILL BRING EX-AG TO BOOK FOR HIS ROLE IN 1MDB COVERUP

IT is possible former attorney-general (AG) Mohamed Apandi Ali may be indicted for his role in covering up the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Hanipa Maidin today.

“We (lawyers) have often asked if the AG would be charged, but I feel now it is possible he may be charged,” Hanipa said in the Dewan Rakyat.

Such a move would require political will, the Amanah MP conceded.

Apandi was appointed AG on July 27, 2015. He replaced Abdul Gani Patail, who was removed reportedly due to health reasons.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad previously said Apandi had undermined his own credibility by hiding evidence in the 1MDB case.

In 2016, Apandi cleared then prime minister Najib Razak of any wrongdoing in relation to the 1MDB affair.

Hanipa, while responding to a question from Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani), said the nation has seen former prime minister Najib Razak brought to court over the 1MDB scandal.

“We have also seen the mastermind in this case (Jho Low) charged in absentia. Previously, all this would have been unthinkable…”

All this had taken place, he said, even before the law was amended to facilitate separation of powers.

He said that perhaps the first time in history, a sitting attorney-general would bring a former attorney-general to court. 

“It is not impossible under the current Pakatan Harapan government.”.

Apandi is back in the news for offering free legal aid to participants of the mega-rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

Apandi, who is offering his services via his law firm Apandi Ali & Co, yesterday said he was doing so as he believed in what the gathering stood for.

“Yes, it’s true, I am offering free legal services to participants of the rally on the day of the gathering because I am confident that what they are doing is good for the country,” Apandi told The Malaysian Insight.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT