Zahid's appointment does not affect pending court cases - Amanah
Amanah dismissed claims that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s appointment as part of the cabinet will affect the progress of his ongoing court cases.
Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is “bound” by the reality that Zahid still leads a party supporting the current government.
He said in the 15th general election...
Amanah dismissed claims that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s appointment as part of the cabinet will affect the progress of his ongoing court cases.
Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is “bound” by the reality that Zahid still leads a party supporting the current government.
He said in the 15th general election, BN won 30 seats and the coalition then supported Harapan to form the federal government.
“There is basically nothing to do with the prerequisites of the court case and his position in the cabinet as deputy prime minister.
“Zahid’s court cases continue as usual and whatever decision the court makes is independent and will not be bound by his position in the cabinet.
“All legal compliance applies to Zahid as an implication of what will happen to him in court later,” Mujahid (above) said in a statement today.
Zahid the sticking point
Yesterday, Anwar announced the line-up of the new cabinet after about a week of being sworn in as prime minister.
Garnering much attention was the fact that Zahid was named deputy prime minister as well as rural and regional development minister.
This has been a source of consternation in cabinet negotiations as Zahid is currently being tried on several criminal charges including corruption.
The Bagan Datuk MP was one of the high-profile leaders from BN to be tried in court after Harapan won the 14th general election and formed the government in 2018.
Zahid’s predecessor in Umno, Najib Abdul Razak, has been convicted on graft, abuse of power, and money laundering charges and is currently serving a prison sentence.
Mujahid said another controversial ministerial appointment involved Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz - who had lost his bid to capture the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat to incumbent Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Mujahid said Zafrul has the image of an aristocratic elite and it contradicts the pro-rakyat theme that Harapan is fighting for.
“The difference this time is that Zafrul holds the position of international trade and industry minister and it is expected that his job will be to bring foreign investment into the country.
“Maybe his pro-business elitist image will help? We'll wait and see,” he said.
Mujahid also stressed that the public needs to understand the challenges faced by Anwar to form a government.
This is due to plans to reduce the size of the cabinet and at the same time having to accommodate the distribution of posts among component parties.
Even so, said the former religious minister, Anwar had explained that the formation of the cabinet was based on needs, objectives and merit, not to reward loyalty.
