Rosmah S Acquittal Signals Deep Flaws In Agc

---

 


Yesterday, Rosmah Mansor, wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was acquitted of 17 charges of money laundering and tax evasion amounting to RM7 million.
The judge granted an order of acquittal after allowing Rosmah’s application to have all charges against her quashed on the grounds that the charges were defective and failed to disclose the essential elements of the alleged offences.
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) is shocked at these developments, which indicate deep-rooted institutional flaws within the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
The AGC’s repeated failure to bring corruption cases involving the political elite to full trial has destroyed public trust in the criminal justice system.
Plus, it also highlights the urgent need to separate the offices of the public prosecutor (PP) and the AGC.
Rosmah MansorBack to Rosmah’s case, the former faced 12 charges of money laundering involving RM7 million, as well as five additional charges of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board.
The presiding judge, K Muniandy, granted Rosmah’s application for an acquittal due to the prosecution’s charges being bad in law.
The court mentioned how the charges failed to disclose key elements of the offence of money laundering such as the transaction involving money laundering, the unlawful conduct of the accused, and the monies referred to in the charges.
Similar procedural issues were also listed in the charges for failure of income tax declaration. Hence, all 17 charges were struck out. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib stated immediately after the proceedings that the AGC would appeal the court’s decision.
String of failures
As highlighted by C4 Center in a statement on Nov 28, there have been a string of flawed prosecutions that undermine the credibility of the AGC. These cases include:
Najib and Irwan Serigar Abdullah: The prosecution failed to deliver pre-trial documents as per Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code, in large part due to their confidentiality under the Official Secrets Act 1972.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi: In the Yayasan Akalbudi case, he was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for 47 charges including criminal breach of trust and money laundering as the prosecution needed to conduct a “more thorough and comprehensive investigation’.
Najib and Arul Kanda Kandasamy: In the 1MDB audit tampering trial, acquittals for corruption-related charges were left unchallenged after the prosecution failed to file their petitions of appeal in time.
Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng: In the case of his purchase of a bungalow below market price, the prosecution applied for a DNAA almost two years after the charge upon discovering fresh evidence.
On Dec 12, the AGC withdrew the appeal against the Shah Alam High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge Zahid from 40 charges of corruption in connection to the Foreign Visa System (VLN). Subsequently, the Court of Appeal struck out the prosecution’s appeal, effectively upholding Zahid’s acquittal.
Hence, Rosmah’s acquittal added another blow to the already-fraught reputation of the AGC. There is a growing question of how acquittals and DNAAs for many influential political figures were secured through the shortcomings of the prosecution’s case.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi with former premier Najib Abdul RazakIf these failures were the result of genuine mistakes by the AGC, it demonstrates an incredibly concerning trend of incompetence resulting in interferences against the administration of justice.
New AG must act
Newly-appointed Attorney General Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar must take accountability for these failures and provide explanations as to how such significant errors could have been overlooked.
Such high-profile failures early in Dusuki’s tenure do not bode well for the rest of his term. The DPP’s verbal commitment to appealing the court’s decision does little to assuage the anxieties regarding the prosecution’s ability to “get it right” next time around if the AGC does not directly address how the mistakes of this prosecution are not repeated in the appeals process.
Attorney General Mohd Dusuki MokhtarAnother worrying sentiment is the growing public distrust against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration due to the perception of political interference in these cases.
This perception is well-founded due to the lack of separation of the offices of the AG and PP – as the AG is appointed on the binding advice of the prime minister and also holds the office of the PP.
In other words, the discretion to direct criminal prosecutions lies with a political appointee. This structure has been long criticised as there is an inherent possibility that decisions to prosecute political figures may be influenced by the executive.
Shrinking judicial independence?
This perception is compounded by new fears regarding the independence of the judiciary.
Former Bar Council president S Ambiga has raised the alarm over the possibility of shrinking judicial independence, citing the 10-month delay in appointing Hasnah Mohammed Hashim as chief judge of Malaya, without any explanation for the delay.
Shad Saleem Faruqi had also recently called for the removal of the prime minister’s “absolute” influence to appoint judges. It is clear that the concerns of undue influence of the executive over the judiciary are real and must be addressed urgently to restore public confidence.
Regardless of whether or not Rosmah Mansor’s acquittal was due to incompetence or political machinations, if left unaddressed, these events only add credence to the perception that there is little to no impunity for individuals with significant wealth and influence.
Rosmah and Najib have been strongly implicated in the largest ever corruption scandal in Malaysia, and one of the biggest in the world.
It would be a grave miscarriage of justice should they be able to walk free on something as frivolous and avoidable as a mistake in legal technicalities.
Hence, C4 Center strongly urges the AGC to take immediate accountability following this string of embarrassments and inform the public of the steps being taken to remedy the issues.
Furthermore, it is also urgent for the offices of the AG and PP to be separated, and prosecutorial guidelines must be drafted to steer the conduct of prosecutors in a fair and uniform manner. - Mkini
C4 CENTER is an anti-corruption watchdog.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

---