REFORMS are no longer part of the unity government’s agenda and priority following the court’s decision to grant Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a conditional discharge in his Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case, alleged a Bersatu leader.
Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan claimed that several politicians had been acquitted of various charges against them when Pakatan Harapan (PH) had taken over Putrajaya, which had then led to numerous speculations from various parties.
The former Bersatu information chief further pointed out that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also failed to provide a proper explanation to the people about the country’s legal system.
“I think this is what the government wants when an individual, whose integrity and credibility had previously been questioned, eventually walks free from all charges,” Wan Saiful said during a Sinar Harian forum on Tuesday (Sept 19).
“This has resulted in the death of the reforms that had been promised by the PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) government.”
Speaking at the forum were also PUTRA law, anti-corruption and integrity bureau chairwoman Zarina Zainal Abidin, senior lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla and also Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican.
Meanwhile, Wan Saiful said the separation of powers between the attorney-general (AG) and the public prosecutor must immediately be implemented to ensure that every individual who has been found guilty undergoes a fair legal process.
He further pointed out that the Anwar-led unity government seem to have forgotten the agenda to separate the powers of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the government which had long been fought for by PH.
He said if PH-BN fails to fulfil the agenda as promised, Perikatan Nasional (PN) is well-prepared to carry out the institutional reforms that they had consistently fought for.
“The demand for the separation of powers between the AG and the public prosecutor seem to be a thing of the past now although we have begun fighting for this since 2010,” Wan Saiful remarked.
“If PH-BN fails to make this a reality, PN will take on the responsibility, seeing as to how we are more consistent about reforms compared to the current government.” – Sept 20, 2023
Main pic credit: Utusan Malaysia
