KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has today urged the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) to review the charges against Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his criminal breach of trust (CBT) trial involving RM6.64 billion in government funds allegedly paid to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
The Umno president’s comments came after a memo, said to be from the AGC, was leaked, purportedly suggesting that the government drop the case involving the former prime minister.
According to a report by Malay daily Berita Harian, Zahid said that if the memo was genuine, he was confident that the AGC would take immediate steps to drop the charges.
“The people, especially the leadership and members of Umno, are confident that the persecution inflicted on Najib on the orders of the government and leaders at the time should be used as a basis to show that justice must be the priority of the AGC.
“We have full confidence in the credibility and ability of the AGC to investigate and do something more positive so that Najib receives true justice,” he was quoted as saying after launching the Jualan Desa Madani event at Menara MARA here.
On August 17, Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Idrus Harun was quoted as saying by The Star that the AGC was investigating the matter but stopped short of confirming the authenticity of the memo.
The alleged leaked 12-page internal memo, which went viral on social media recently, is dated September 10, 2019 and addressed to former AG Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
It was purportedly written by the IPIC prosecution team who expressed concern over their apparent inability to build a strong prima facie case for the six charges levied against Najib and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
In October 2018, Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar pleaded not guilty to six charges of CBT amounting to RM6.64 billion in government funds involving payments to IPIC.
Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar were jointly accused of committing all the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex, Putrajaya between December 21, 2016, and December 18, 2017.
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code which provides for a maximum of 20 years in jail and whipping as well as fine upon conviction.
