IT is the duty of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to explain to the public why Deputy Prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi got a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his corruption cases, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said. 

He said the court had permitted the discharge of Zahid because it was requested by the attorney-general.

Haniff said on January 24 last year, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah’s decision was that Zahid enter his defence on all 47 charges of misappropriation of funds from a charity organisation.

“It is sad that in the nature and circumstances, the prosecution has decided to drop the charges. 

“The court had earlier determined they had a prima facie case (for Zahid) to enter his defence. 

“So the AG needs to explain why the charges were dropped,” Haniff told The Malaysian Insight. 

Earlier today, the court granted Zahid a DNAA in his corruption cases. Sequerah made the ruling after listening to the prosecution’s submissions.

He said the decision was made to allow further investigations by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). 

The difference between a discharge amounting to an acquittal (DAA) and DNAA is that with the former, the case has come to an end. 

However, with a DNAA, the prosecution may decide to file fresh charges on the same facts as earlier.

The prosecution may then request the court for a new date to charge and prosecute Zahid on the fresh charges.

The head of the prosecution team, Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, said the application for DNAA was made in accordance with section 254 of the criminal procedure code.

He also presented 11 reasons for the application, one of which is to give the MACC an opportunity to conduct a detailed investigation into the defence testimony of 15 witnesses, including the accused.

Haniff said the prosecution could in the next few months consider to file new charges and if that happens, then it will have to start from scratch to prove their case as the earlier decision on a prima facie case will no longer stand valid and would become legally irrelevant. 

“Then, a new judge has to be appointed to listen to the new charges when it is a waste of judicial time as the earlier prima facie case is redundant in the new charges.”

Zahid was ordered to enter his defence on all 47 charges, involving 12 charges on criminal breach of trust, eight on corruption and 27 on money laundering.

He is accused of embezzling millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister between 2013 and 2018.

Haniff said no parties can blame the court as if it was complicit to let Zahid go, because the court has no power to insist the case goes on when the AG has decided to drop the charges. 

“The power of the AG to drop the charges cannot be interfered with by the court. 

“However, the AG’s decision to drop the charges must follow through with a finality of a court order. The only power the court has is to grant a DNAA or DAA as argued by the prosecution and defence.”

He also questioned if the new AG was going to explain the case as he is to take office only on Wednesday. 

“The public might not get a proper explanation from the AGC on the matter as the former AG is on leave.

“The new AG might say he didn’t order the DNAA, so the public could be in limbo over the matter.”

On September 1, Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali announced Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh as the new AG effective Wednesday.  

He will succeed Idrus Harun, whose contract of service ends tomorrow.

Below are some high-profile cases where the accused was granted a DNAA:

– On December 7, 2020, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali granted a DNAA to Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor in his RM1 million corruption trial following an appeal by prosecutors. The former Putrajaya MP was charged with corruptly receiving for himself RM1 million from businessman Tan Eng Boon, who had pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of abetting the politician and was fined RM1.5 million.

The money was allegedly deposited into Tengku Adnan’s CIMB Bank account as an inducement to assist the application by Nucleus Properties Sdn Bhd to increase the company’s plot ratio in regard to a development project on Lot 228, Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur.

– On November 5, 2020, former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa was granted a DNAA for 16 counts of criminal breach of trust amounting to RM321,273.80. It was also reported that the money was allegedly linked to his salary as the Nassar Foundation chairman between 2015 and 2018.

– On May 16, 2020, a Sessions Court granted a DNAA to Najib Razak’s stepson, Riza Aziz, who was charged with five counts of money laundering amounting to US$248 million (RM1.25 billion), allegedly misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Bhd funds.

Former lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram had applied for the DNAA subject to Riza returning part of the loot, which amounted to “several million ringgit”. – September 4, 2023.