The Good And Ugly Sides Of Zahid S Court Case

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THE trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering involving funds from Yayasan Akalbudi, will resume at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on June 15.The last proceeding of the case was on March 6  before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah and was supposed to continue on March 24, but had to be postponed following enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to break the chain of the COVID-19 infection.
The case came up for management May 18, during which Judge Sequerah set 30 days to continue the trial - from June 15 to 18; July 2, 3, 13 and 14; July 27 to 30; Aug 10 to 14; Aug 24 to 28 and Sept 21 to 30.
He is also facing 40 counts of receiving bribes at the Shah Alam High Court. It has been fixed 23 days from October until December to hear all allegations involving him with Malaysia’s foreign visa system (VLN).
The 'politically-orchestrated' allegations were made by former Pakatan Harapan government under Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Zahid has denied any wrongdoings and dismissed widespread perception that all that will be dropped following a power shift in the government.
Instead, he has vowed to fight on in court to clear his name, saying he wants to clear his name by going through a full trial without asking the prosecution to drop the charges.
Okay. Here is my take. I don't care about the trial BUT is worried about the good and ugly sides of it.
Zahid has said that he did not want any government 'goodwill' interference in his case. Fine! That's noble enough, and I believe he meant it as the case is fully political and reflects the filthiest side of PH government.
Should the case in KL is cleared within these few months, he can sigh in relief, and so are we. However, if it is dragged for another few months or years, it will be detrimental to his political career. So is the case at Shah Alam High Court.
Since UMNO 'is back' with the ruling Perikatan Nasional government, his future hinges on the No.1 Muhyiddin Yassin. As to whether the Prime Minister is really attentive and genuinely-sincere with the UMNO president, God knows best.
Muhyiddin can always allow the prosecution team to prolong the case until or beyond the 15th general election or slashes it to speed up matters, thus providing an opportunity for Zahid to join his Cabinet (I believe he will not interfere and pave the way for Zahid unless he considers UMNO's significant role in pushing him up as the premier).
If PN wants to see him totally out of the political scenario, they can always do!
Should the PM chose not to interfere (as Zahid himself wants it), the case is left to the jurisdiction of the attorney-general. Is he Zahid's friend? The case could be short or long, it all depends on the proceeding.
Now the most ugliest side of his cases is that, any extension or delay to his final verdict will be disastrous to his political future. Should the verdict of NOT GUILTY is passed down by end of the year at the latest, he probably will get the chance to elevate his position in the government, and most importantly is the party since UMNO elections are slotted for middle of next year.
Any verdict after middle of next year will mean nothing to him anymore. Since there is already a plot within UMNO to oust him (led by once his former allies), he probably will be out should there is a contender for the president post, and the chance to stand in GE15 is slim.

Bagan Datuk will definitely lose him! Malaysia too will miss an outstanding leader like him.

It looks like the court must wind-up its cases, both in KL and Shah Alam, by end of the year. I pray for him to clear everything, put UMNO on the right track again and resumes his uphill battle to reach the pinnacle of politics.

Possibilities are always there but with the right and strong team of lawyers, he should be able to make it.

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