BERSATU deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu has challenged Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to relieve his deputy Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi from his official duties to ensure that his corruption trial can proceed “without delay or interference”.
This follows an application filed by Zahid to the court for his passport to be returned permanently even though the document had previously been submitted to comply with his bail out condition of his on-going trial related to 47 charges of corruption, breach of trust and money laundering of the Akalbudi Foundation funds.
In his application, Zahid claimed that he had been given a mandate by Anwar to represent him in a number of national administration matters, in addition to the need to facilitate his movements, affairs and assignments as the Deputy PM whereby he is required to be inside and outside the country.
“(Zahid’s) application which leveraged national interest as an excuse is seen as putting pressure on the court and judges as well as will interfere with the trial process,” Faizal pointed out in a media statement.
“Although it is the absolute authority of the judge to return the passport, the duties held by Zahid who is currently in the government administration will affect the power of the judiciary to guarantee an efficient, smooth and without delay trial.”
Added the former Youth and Sports Minister who lost to Anwar in the Tambun parliamentary seat contest during the 15th General Election (GE15): “The return of the passport will certainly cause more delays in the trial process with various business reasons that will only drag his court case longer to complete.”
According to Faizal, there is a need to consider that having Zahid who is facing trial for 47 charges in court in the national administration “should also be seen as a damage to the composition of the Cabinet ministers and government as a whole”.
“This is an insult to the majority of voters in the GE15 who expect a clean, transparent and integrity government,” he asserted.
“The best approach to deal with this issue is for Anwar to insist that Zahid be relieved from his duties as DPM to focus on the court trial process while further proving his innocence from the 47 charges that he was convicted of.”
This, in Faizal’s view, is necessary to guarantee an independent and fair national judicial system in addition to guaranteeing a transparent trial without any interference and delay. – Jan 27, 2023
