Ph Carried Out Selective Prosecution Through Ex Ag Thomas Says Zahid

---

 
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says ‘trumped-up’ charges against him and other Umno leaders were proof of selective prosecution. (Bernama pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has insisted that Pakatan Harapan (PH), which swept to power after the 2018 general election, carried out selective prosecution through its attorney-general, Tommy Thomas.
Testifying in his corruption trial in the High Court, the Umno president said he, former prime minister Najib Razak, Umno treasurer Tengku Adnan Mansor, then Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan and 18 others from the party were prosecuted.
“Some were charged with receiving money from a fund,” said Zahid when re-examined by his lawyer, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal.
The former deputy prime minister and former home minister did not elaborate which fund he was referring to.
Zahid said reports were made to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after the elections to enable investigations to begin.
However, he said the attorney-general dropped charges against 15 PH leaders, including Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah, Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, Pasir Gudang MP Hasan Karim and then PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli.
“If this is not selective prosecution, then what is this by the then attorney-general?” he asked.
He said the public perception was also that the “trumped-up charges” were seen as political persecution.
In his elaborate defence statement, Zahid, who is also the Bagan Datuk MP, had said he and other Umno leaders, including those at the division level, became “victims of selective prosecution”.
He said those charged expected justice from the court.
Zaidi: Did PH make reports against Umno/BN leaders when they came to power and you were in the opposition?
Zahid: Yes.
Zaidi: Was the prosecution also politically motivated?
Zahid: Yes.
Zahid said that in his case, he explained to MACC the use of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi, a charitable foundation which he founded to help the poor and the needy.
“However, charges were framed against me,” he said.
He also repeated his claim that Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was the prime minister during the PH administration, asked him to dissolve Umno and cross over “or something will happen to me”.
“I took this as a threat,” he said, adding that he was aware that Mahathir had denied the claim publicly.
Zahid is standing trial on 47 charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving millions from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister.
Twelve of the charges are for CBT, eight for corruption and the remaining 27 for money laundering.
The hearing before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues. - FMT

---