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PETALING JAYA: The Attorney General (AG) should state in writing that the three pending cases against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be pursued vigorously and diligently, says Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama).
The civil society initiative said this was to ensure the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) would not apply to the courts for a discharge of any sort in the cases, be it a discharge and acquittal (DAA) or a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA).
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“We are deeply concerned about the role of AG Datuk Ahmad Terriruddin Mohd Salleh in the partial pardon of Najib, not only because of the reduction of the jail term and fine but because of the likelihood that the AGC may withdraw the pending charges against Najib.
“Our call is warranted because of the AGC’s track record where two examples were the cases of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kandasamy where both were given DNAA and DAA (in their respective cases).
“If Terriruddin is unwilling to (give this) public assurance then he should tender his resignation (in fairness) to his ‘clients’, the Malaysian public,” it said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 8).
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“If anyone walks free, it must be because they have proven their innocence before the courts and not by short-circuiting the criminal justice system through political negotiation.
“To stop the rot, the Madani government must also expedite the separation of the office of Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor and free the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) from political influence,” it added.
On Feb 2, the Pardons Board reduced the jail term imposed on Najib, 70, in the SRC International misappropriation of funds case from 12 years to six and the fine from RM210mil to RM50mil.
Najib’s three pending cases include an RM27mil money laundering trial, also involving SRC International, and his 1MDB corruption trial.
He is also charged with criminal breach of trust, together with former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, involving RM6.6bil in payments to International Petroleum Investment Company. The matter is set to go to trial from June 4.
