The former prime minister and former Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah were granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in the case on Nov 27 last year.
At a joint press conference today, Projek Sama convener Ngeow Chow Ying expressed concern over what she described as a pattern of VIP defendants receiving a DNAA before eventually being freed entirely.
“The delay by the AGC in filing new charges after DNAA was granted appears to be a modus operandi on how VIP defendants subsequently obtain a discharge amounting to acquittal and get off the hook entirely,” she said.
Present at the press conference were representatives from Bersih, Haram, and IDEAS Malaysia.
Ngeow cited the case of former Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation director-general Hasanah Ab Hamid, who was charged with criminal breach of trust involving US$12.1 million (RM50.4 million) in government funds.
Hasanah was granted a DNAA in April 2021, but when the AGC failed to refile charges within 16 months, she received a full acquittal.
Ngeow contended that Najib’s DNAA was due to the AGC’s failure to obtain key documents classified as “official secrets” by the finance ministry under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
As such, she said, the NGOs called on the government to declassify the documents to facilitate Najib’s prosecution.
She said if Najib secures a full acquittal in the IPIC case because of the AGC’s failure to file new charges or because the documents have not been declassified, then the government must take full responsibility for it.
The NGOs also announced they would issue quarterly reminders to Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to ensure the prosecution follows through by refiling charges. - FMT
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