Lawyers want RCI over AG’s decision to withdraw graft charges against Lim
PETALING JAYA: Several lawyers are calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) over the decision to withdraw the corruption charges against former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon.
Lawyers Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz and Gunamalar Joorindanjn have questioned Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria’s explanation that the evidence in the case has been “substantially weakened”.
“The rakyat can accept if Lim is found innocent by the court after a full trial, however the DPP’s statement raises many questions.
“A RCI should be set up to investigate whether the AG’s office has committed a serious wrongdoing that has eroded the people’s trust in the nation’s justice system,” Mohd Khairul said in a statement yesterday.
DPP Mohamad Hanafiah is the head of the appellate and trial division at the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
Mohd Khairul rubbished DPP Mohamad Hanafiah’s opinion that in light of fresh evidence that arose during the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, it would not succeed at the end of the prosecution case.
He questioned how DPP Mohamad Hanafiah reached the conclusion when he was never involved in the case from the beginning and had not communicated with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure that the decision was sound.
“His statement was also contradictory in that AG Tommy Thomas had no hand in the decision, yet at the same time had informed him of his confidential decision at 9.44am on Monday.
“If he was required to report to his superior, why he did not report the confidential matter to the Solicitor General and Solicitor General II, in accordance to his press statement dated Aug 2,” Mohd Khairul pointed out.
Solicitor-General Datuk Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek and SolicitorGeneral II Datin Paduka Zauyah Be T. Loth Khan had jointly signed the press release, announcing AG’s withdrawal from the case.
Acting on behalf of complainant Muhsin Abdual Latheef, Gunamalar said the AGC’s decision to enter nolle prosequi (where Public Prosecutor does not propose further to prosecute the accused) was not made in good faith.
She said based on Article 145(1) of the Federal Constitution and Section 376(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the AG has the power and control over all criminal prosecutions.
Gunamalar said Thomas was still the AG and public prosecutor at the time the decision was made by the AGC to discontinue the criminal trials.
“The Solicitor-Generals and all other DPPs are merely his subordinates,” she said, while urging the AG to file a notice of appeal to review whether the High Court’s decision to order an acquittal instead of a discharge was justified.