Govt didn’t interfere in Zahid trial, says Fadillah

By admin-s Last updated Sep 5, 2023

Deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof says the government respects the legal process and the separation of powers.

(FMT) – The government did not interfere in the corruption trial of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, according to deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof, hours after Zahid was given a conditional discharge on 47 corruption charges.

Fadillah said the government respects the legal process and the separation of powers between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature, Bernama reported.

He added that the High Court in Kuala Lumpur had come to the decision based on firm facts.

“Let the legal process take place and we shall respect it. We will never interfere, and it is up to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to evaluate the next course of action,” Fadillah told reporters.

Zahid is Umno president and chairman of Barisan Nasional. He is also one of two deputy prime ministers in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

Earlier today, High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah granted Zahid a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on 47 charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving millions from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister.

He was ordered to make his defence in May last year after the judge held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.

The prosecution had applied for the conditional discharge when the trial resumed this morning, on the grounds of representations made by Zahid’s lawyers and in view of further investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.