Zahid discontinues appeal to vary court’s DNAA order, says source

September 23, 2023

Zahid discontinues appeal to vary court’s DNAA order, says source

PETALING JAYA: Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has withdrawn an appeal filed to vary a High Court judge’s decision granting him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.

According to a source, the notice of appeal was filed on Sunday but retracted two days later. It is unclear why the retraction was made.

“Following the withdrawal, the High Court registry has discontinued processing the appeal,” the source told FMT.

FMT has reached out to Zahid’s lawyers for comment.

On Sept 4, deputy public prosecutor Dusuki Mokhtar applied for Zahid to be granted a DNAA to allow the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct further investigations into the case.

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The request was made following representations filed by Zahid with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

Dusuki also said that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) would be formed to look into various matters contained in former attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ controversial memoir published in 2021, particularly with regard to selective prosecution.

Following the hearing, lead defence counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told reporters that Zahid would file an appeal from the judge’s ruling.

In January last year, Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah had ordered Zahid to enter his defence to the case after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case.
Zahid and 14 defence witnesses had testified in a bid to establish reasonable doubt in the prosecution case.

Zahid was facing 47 charges, 12 of which were for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and the remainder for money laundering.

He was accused of embezzling millions of ringgit from his foundation and for accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister between 2013 and 2018, under the Najib Razak-led administration.