Bersih has urged Attorney-General (AG) Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh to stop applying for discharge not amounting to acquittals (DNAAs) in corruption cases involving politicians.
“We reject DNAA for any politician from any party who is being charged with corruption and criminal breach of trust.
“We urge those who are facing corruption charges to defend themselves and be tried fairly in the court, instead of dropping their charges with the ‘gifting’,” said Bersih chairperson Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz.
He cited Najib Abdul Razak’s money laundering case where the former prime minister was told by the court he could apply for full acquittal or a DNAA in September if prosecutors were unable to decide on his representation to charges against him.
Faisal (above) was speaking to the press during a flash mob in front of the Masjid Jamek LRT station in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said the granting of DNAAs by the AG is not new and has happened several times involving politicians from almost all major political parties in the country.
Previously, Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the court the three money laundering charges should be given a DNAA as the case had hung over Najib’s head like the “sword of Damocles” for nearly six years since 2018.
Last September, the prosecution withdrew the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption charge against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court then allowed the prosecution’s application for a DNAA.
That decision is being challenged in court.
Meanwhile, Terrirudin said on Monday (Jan 15) that the public prosecutor (PP) is not required to give any reasons when withdrawing charges.
Today’s flash mob saw over 60 participants from 30 endorsing NGOs, including Bersih deputy chairperson Wong Yan Ke and Empower executive director Gopalan K Papachan.
There was not much traffic or passers-by who interacted with the flash mob. The participants held placards and chanted “tolak rasuah” (reject bribery), “tolak DNAA” (reject DNAA), and “hidup rakyat” (power to the people).
Over 20 police officers could be seen observing the flash mob, which lasted for about 30 minutes, with one police vehicle parked along Jalan Tun Perak.
Separate AG and PP
Faisal, who is the former Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) president, also demanded that the roles and powers of the AG and PP be immediately separated.
“In line with that, Bersih urges Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to announce an implementation timeline for this separation of AG and PP, as well as other reform agendas such as MACC reform and political financing,” he added.
He reminded Putrajaya that the people are watching and their trust in public institutions will be eroded if DNAAs continue to be granted for corruption cases involving politicians.
“Do not take the people for granted!”
He stressed that Bersih will not hesitate to organise a larger flash mob soon if the government does not fulfil its demands.
“We are confident with the coalition government today that it’s entering the phase of a stable government.
“Bersih supports stability because, with stability, we can ensure that reform can be executed. This is the right time, within the period of four years.
“There’s no reason for ‘reformasi’ to be sidelined.” - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.