Zahid to seek acquittal following AGC's NFA decision
According to Free Malaysia Today, his lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said an application would be filed to convert the initial discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to the Umno president in 2023, into a discharge amounting to an acquittal (DAA)...
Buoyed up over the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ decision that no further action (NFA) would be taken in relation to his criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering charges, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will now seek a full acquittal over his Yayasan Akalbudi case.
According to Free Malaysia Today, his lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said an application would be filed to convert the initial discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to the Umno president in 2023 into a discharge amounting to an acquittal.
“We will soon be filing an application in the Court of Appeal to obtain the DAA," Hisyam said.
AGC had earlier confirmed it would not pursue further action over the DNAA, which involved 47 charges linked to funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
The chambers referred to a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on Sept 4, 2023, and detailed investigations carried out by MACC covering aspects related to the source of funds, methods of acquisition, and the use of the funds concerned in making the decision.
AGC explained that the decision was made after a comprehensive review.
This included the focus of the initial investigation, internal assessments of whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain a prosecution, additional investigative steps by the MACC, and findings covering the entire operation of Yayasan Akalbudi, including the flow of funds into the foundation over time.
‘Truth prevailed’
In an immediate response, Zahid expressed gratitude over the AGC’s decision.
"Praise be to God. In time, everything is answered, and the truth has prevailed," Zahid said on Facebook.
However, a lawyer pointed out that AGC’s decision does not mean Zahid cannot be charged in court later.
M Hafiz Zainol Abidin told Malaysiakini that the attorney-general still has the power to continue the prosecution, as Zahid was only given a DNAA previously.
"Prosecution is under the AG's authority. And the cases were only given DNAA before this, not discharge and acquittal.
"If only DNAA, he can still be prosecuted, subject to the power of the AG.
"But that might only happen under a different AG, not the current one (Dusuki Mokhtar), because he has already decided to discontinue the cases," Hafiz added.
Change in prosecutor
Zahid was granted a DNAA on Sept 4, 2023. The lead prosecutor at that time was Dusuki Mokhtar, who took over from Raja Rozela Raja Toran.
Allegations subsequently emerged that she had been removed from the case.
However, then-attorney-general Idrus Harun stated that Rozela was not dropped, but had applied for early retirement.
Idrus said that the decision to replace Rozela with Dusuki was made by taking into account multiple factors and proper consideration.
Dusuki subsequently became the attorney-general in November 2024.
On Tuesday, Zahid reaffirmed that Umno will remain in government until the end of the current parliamentary term.
Yesterday, PAS election director Sanusi Nor had suggested that Zahid’s “legal burdens” played a factor in Umno’s decision to stay with the government.
