Opposition MPs call for answers on Zahid’s acquittal

 

(From left) Opposition MPs Fahmi Fadzil, Lim Guan Eng and Hassan Karim have spoken out over the acquittal of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on corruption charges.

PETALING JAYA: Two opposition MPs have called for answers for the failure of the prosecution to prove their case against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on corruption charges.

However, another MP urged the attorney-general (AG) to file an appeal against the High Court decision.

Zahid, 69, was acquitted this morning of 40 charges of receiving bribes from a company to extend its foreign visa system contract. High Court judge Yazid Mustafa ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Zahid, who was deputy prime minister and home minister at the time.

DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) must explain their failure to prove a prima facie case against Zahid.

-ADVERTISEMENT-

Ads by 

“Based on the learned judge’s ruling, they (the prosecution) failed to prove a prima facie case against Zahid, and the AGC and MACC must answer,” said Lim, who is MP for Bagan.

PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil said the prosecution should answer not only to the AG but also to the public.

He said the judge had made a comparison between the Zahid case and that of Rosmah Mansor, particularly about how payment of the alleged bribes was said to have been made.

“One cannot help but wonder what made the judge draw a comparison between the attention to detail that the two different prosecution teams gave with their respective cases.

“In the meantime, we should all read the full judgment when it is made available to fully understand this decision,” said Fahmi, who is MP for Lembah Pantai.

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim of PKR hoped that the AG would file an appeal against the decision.

“We accept the AG’s explanation that the judgment in Zahid’s case in the High Court in Shah Alam needs to be scrutinised and studied before an appeal is filed,” he said.

He urged members of the public not to make any attacks against the judge who ruled in Zahid’s favour.

He called for the grounds of judgment to be made public as the Federal Court did with its verdict in the Najib Razak appeal in the SRC International case. - FMT