NEWS of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s discharge with a full acquittal of his graft charges this morning has split Malaysian social media users.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)’s subsequent statement of its shock over the court’s decision and move to distance itself from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) that had pursued the discharge also did not help matters as it fuelled the online debate.

Social media users were split between feeling happy for Lim, the former Penang chief minister, and with questioning the AGC for not pursuing the case.

“Why was the court case on Lim Guan Eng dropped? He is Rakyat too!” Eugene Arokiasamy asked in a Facebook post.

Another Facebook user Nik Sulaiman Hassan said he was waiting for Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to state the reasons for Lim’s acquittal, adding that he believed most people were too.

Souleman Aboo Baker said the judiciary must be independent of political influence.

“Justice department should be a department free of any influential people. Politicians shouldn’t use their power to have a say in court verdict. It will bring shame to the country.”

Devat Hasan Rangasamy commented that he hoped the prosecution’s decision was based on solid evidence.

Or else, it would be the same story with a different actor, he said on Facebook.

Daniel Kopial said he was “very disappointed with how suddenly the case was cleared without continuing with a fair trial”.

“I’m not accusing the finance minister of corruption charges, but just want it be done in a fair and just court. I think it can be cleared before a fair trial and just court, going through all the proper process. #malaysialama #samasaja?”

Many like Daniel also compared the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government, which came into power after the historic May 9 general election, to the old Barisan Nasional administration.

“Is this PH govt more transparent than BN govt or WORSE?” Khoo Soo Seang commented on Facebook.

Ong Seng Fook wrote: “Expected. Winner takes it all politics” while Hoo Wah remarked: “Now who is talking? Powerful people. Same as BN now”.

Richard Chew Kee Ching commented sarcastically that the outcome of the case was “so obvious”.

“Next time don’t accuse the court of being biased! Sama juga! (Just the same.) Kaya la (get rich) in 5 years’ time!” he wrote.

Twitter user Bruce Wong said the MACC chief should issue a statement on Lim’s case, otherwise the people would lose their trust on the graft buster and the A-G.

“Hopefully this is not the beginning of the old era,” he tweeted via the handle @WongthockBruce.

This morning, the prosecution informed the Penang High Court that it no longer wished to pursue the case further, leading Judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail to grant Lim and his former landlady Phang Li Khoon, who sold him the house and was charged alongside him, a discharge amounting to acquittal.

Lim and Phang’s case went through only two days of hearing in late March this year, with the prosecution calling up 25 witnesses.

The high-profile hearing was then postponed for Lim, who is Bagan MP, to attend the final Dewan Rakyat sitting of the term, and then campaign in the 14th general election in May, which saw BN removed from Putrajaya.

The trial never resumed after the polls, as the case was postponed following the defence submitting a representation to the AGC to drop the charges.

Social media users had scathing remarks for the PH government.

“Am I surprised? Not at all. Mind you he’s not released because he’s found not guilty, but because the AGC ‘suddenly’ decides to drop the case,” Ahmad Hafiz Salahuddin wrote on Facebook.

“Rule of law? My foot. In fact, PH is worse. Under BN, Khir Toyo who committed the exact same offence was actually found guilty and sentenced to prison.”

He was referring to former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo who was charged with corruption over allegations that he was sold a lavish mansion for less than its market value when he was in office. He was convicted and sentenced to jail for 12 months. His properties were ordered to be confiscated.

Many others felt the acquittal was right because Lim and Phang were victims of persecution by the former administration.

Yeh Chen Tan, who commented on the MACC’s “shocked” statement, said there was no case against Lim to begin with.

“First and foremost, there’s no case because corrupted Umno-BN simply made accusations against DAP. They were so jealous of Guan Eng and his team’s excellent performance in their governance of Penang.”

The Facebook user sarcastically told MACC to “better work hard, smart and fast” to investigate former prime minister Najib Razak for alleged corruption, embezzlement and stealing.

Kaycee Khor also said it was time to go after the real criminals.

“But let this be a lesson to all politicians – you must not merely be clean but must be seen to be clean.” – September 3, 2018.