PETALING JAYA: Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) is calling for the Attorney General (AG) to publicly declare that the three pending cases against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be vigorously and diligently pursued. This is to prevent the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) from seeking any form of discharge in the cases, such as a discharge and acquittal (DAA) or a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA).
The civil society initiative expressed concern over the role of AG Datuk Ahmad Terriruddin Mohd Salleh in the partial pardon of Najib, particularly in reducing the jail term and fine, as well as the possibility of the AGC withdrawing the pending charges against Najib. They referenced previous cases involving Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kandasamy, both of whom received DNAA and DAA in their respective cases.
“If Terriruddin is unwilling to give this public assurance, then he should tender his resignation to his ‘clients’, the Malaysian public,” Projek Sama said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 8). They emphasized that anyone being acquitted should do so through proving their innocence in court rather than through political negotiation, and also called for the separation of the office of Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor as well as freeing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) from political influence to prevent further corruption.
On Feb 2, the Pardons Board reduced Najib’s jail term in the SRC International misappropriation of funds case from 12 years to six, along with the fine from RM210mil to RM50mil. Najib’s three pending cases include a money laundering trial involving RM27mil, also related to SRC International, as well as his 1MDB corruption trial. He is also charged with criminal breach of trust, along with former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, involving RM6.6bil in payments to International Petroleum Investment Company. The trial for the latter is set to begin on June 4.
