‘Stinks to high heaven’: Ex-MACC boss slams NFA for Zahid

The former chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has slammed the government’s decision not to take further action over corruption charges involving Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as the deputy prime minister now prepares to have all 47 charges against him dropped, despite having gone to trial after the court established a prima facie case.

Latheefa Koya described Attorney-General Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar’s decision to take “no further action” against Zahid as “an outrage upon the people’s sense of fairness and justice”.

“Would Zahid have received such special treatment if he were not the deputy prime minister? Would Zahid have received such special treatment if he were not a crucial political ally of Anwar Ibrahim?” she asked.

“The whole thing stinks to high heaven. Something is rotten in Putrajaya.”

Zahid was charged with 47 counts of criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

The Umno president played a critical role in getting his party to support Anwar’s bid for the top office in the aftermath of the 2022 general election, which resulted in a hung parliament.

Among the CBT charges is that he allegedly settled his credit card debts using Yayasan Akalbudi funds through 44 cheques amounting to some RM1.3 million between January 2013 and December 2016.

Latheefa, who led MACC for nine months during a critical phase of the agency’s pursuit of former government leaders for high-level corruption, recalled that the process to let Zahid off the 47 corruption charges began with the sudden exit of lead prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran.

“Just before the charges were dropped, the tough prosecutor Raja Rozela was also dropped from Zahid’s case,” she said, referring to the discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) requested by the AG for Zahid.

Raja Rozela, who had several tense exchanges with Zahid in court, was suddenly absent from the trial days before the DNAA was announced.

However, the then AG, Idrus Harun, claimed that she had applied for “early retirement”.

Raja Rozela herself declined to comment, reportedly saying: “I am a public servant... I am not allowed to comment. My apologies.”

Latheefa noted that High Court judge Colin Lawrence Sequerah, despite ruling a prima facie case against Zahid, had no choice but to grant the DNAA requested by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

She said that in the latest decision, the AGC made “a weak, pathetic attempt to explain the NFA”.

“Will the AGC give the same lenient and special treatment to an ordinary government clerk charged with stealing a few hundred ringgit?

“Who can have confidence in the criminal justice system after this?”

She further added that Anwar’s move to appoint Zahid as deputy prime minister was “a moment of national shame”.

“Never before, since Merdeka, has a person facing serious criminal charges been made DPM.”