Zahid files application to stay corruption trial
Published on: Monday, June 27, 2022
By:
FMT, V Anbalagan
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he needs access to the witness statements so he can get a fair trial.
Kuala Lumpur: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has applied for his ongoing corruption trial to be stayed pending the outcome of his appeal in May to obtain witness statements recorded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Zahid, who filed the application with a supporting affidavit last week, said an appeal had been filed in the Court of Appeal to reverse the High Court ruling made on May 9.
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On May 9, the High Court had dismissed an application filed by the former deputy prime minister to gain access to the statements of 15 witnesses recorded by MACC.
Trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah had dismissed his application on grounds of public policy and public interest.
Sequerah also said he was bound to refuse the application because of rulings on the matter by the Federal Court.
Zahid is accused of 47 counts of money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister.
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Twelve of the charges are for CBT, eight for corruption and the remaining 27 for money laundering.
On Jan 24, Sequerah ordered him to enter his defence as he said the prosecution had established a prima facie case.
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Zahid, who is the Umno president, took the stand on April 24 to give evidence, and his lawyers are still examining him.
He said he was advised by his lawyers that he needed to “explain further for a complete defence”.
He said the statements he sought were needed or else he would be denied a fair trial.
“This application is not to delay the trial as my lawyers are already conducting the examination-in-chief,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Malik Ayob said they would oppose the application, a copy of which they received through email on Saturday.
“We need time to reply to the applicant’s (Zahid) affidavit,” he told Sequerah, adding that it would be filed by July 4.
The judge said he will hear the application on July 7.
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