THE cabinet to be formed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim must set a high standard and must exclude lawmakers with ongoing court cases, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said.

The Setiawangsa MP said this is important as it will help avoid questions of integrity even if their cases are still pending.

“Ideally, those with court cases should not be in the cabinet to prevent issues arising further down the line,” Nik Nazmi was quoted as saying by Malay-language daily Sinar Harian.

The PKR vice-president noted that the public remained concerned about corruption cases involving politicians.

He said having ministers who are free of any corruption cases will put to rest this concern about integrity.

At present, lawmakers with court cases include Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng and Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

In September, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted Zahid a full discharge amounting to an acquittal after ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case that he received bribes from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd, the company awarded a government contract for a foreign visa system as the then home minister.

However, he is still on trial for another corruption case where he is accused of 47 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption and money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi, the charity organisation he founded.

Lim, 61, was charged with using his position as the then Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3 million in bribes as an inducement to assist Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd owner Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli secure the project worth more than RM6.3 billion.

Lim is alleged to have committed the offence at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, Komtar, George Town, between January 2011 and August 2017.

Syed Saddiq was charged with abetting in CBT, misappropriation of assets and money laundering.

He is accused of conspiring with then Bersatu youth wing assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with funds of RM1 million, to commit CBT by misusing the funds at CIMB Bank, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Sentral 2, on March 6, 2020.

As the then Bersatu youth chief, Syed Saddiq was also entrusted with control of the funds. – November 27, 2022.