KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 1): The criminal trial of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi continued on Tuesday (Aug 1), as prosecutors informed the court that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is still examining letters of representation from Zahid.

However, lead prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Tora was not present, fuelling speculation that she is no longer the lead prosecutor in the case.  

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Dusuki Mokhtar told justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah that the review is still ongoing, and that a special team from the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) is still studying his representations and that the team was waiting for feedback before the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) makes a decision.

After informing Collin, who is a Court of Appeal judge, the trial continued with Zahid’s sixth defence witness Datuk Mohd Kamal Abdullah (“Ku Kamal”), who has been Zahid’s special officer since 1994.

When the trial began in the morning, Dusuki introduced the prosecution team to the bench but did not mention Raja Rozela’s name as she was not present.

Zahid’s trial, in which he is charged with 47 counts of corruption, has been vacated since November last year on a number of occasions.

In January this year and then again in February, Zahid’s lawyers had sent letters of representation to the AGC, claiming “there were new facts and new evidence being contributory to the charges”.

A letter of representation is normally sent by lawyers to either ask for a reduction, or a withdrawal of charges against their client.

Because of this, trial dates set for April, May, June and July were vacated as well.

Lawyers in the trial claim that the letters of representation are 200 pages long and Dusuki told the court on Tuesday that “the matter is still pending”, adding that “there’s no outcome so far regarding the process of representation”.

Following the 15th general election held on Nov 19 last year, Zahid was named as one of two deputy prime ministers by Prime Mininster Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Dec 2, and was sworn-in to the position on Dec 3. Zahid is also the rural and regional development minister.

Zahid, who is also Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman, is facing 47 charges, of which 12 are for criminal breach of trust (CBT), eight for corruption, and 27 for money laundering, involving RM31 million of Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

On the 12 CBT charges, Zahid is alleged to have used the funds to make payments for personal credit cards, insurance policies and licences for his personal vehicles, remittances to a law firm, and as contributions to the Royal Malaysian Police football association.

The charges, under Section 409 of the Penal Code, each carry a maximum of 20 years in jail, whipping and fine.