PUTRAJAYA (July 13): The prosecution in Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's criminal case will wait for instructions from the Attorney-General (AG) on whether to review the apex court's 2-1 majority decision to acquit the Muar parliamentarian.
When contacted by The Edge, lead deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said that he will leave that decision to AG Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.
"I am thankful over having done my duty to lead the prosecution team in this case. I leave it to [the AG] on whether to decide to review today's decision. I have done my job," Wan Shaharuddin said when contacted.
Earlier on Monday, a three-member judicial panel delivered its verdict in Syed Saddiq’s case. In a 2-1 decision, the majority dismissed the prosecution’s final appeal in this case.
Federal Court judges Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah formed the majority decision. The bench chair, Court of Appeal (COA) President Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Jais, was the dissenting judge.
However, it has to be noted that Abu Bakar only dissented in part, as he found Syed Saddiq guilty of three of the four charges, namely the misappropriation of party funds of RM120,000 in April 2018 and two money-laundering charges linked to this.
All three judges were in agreement that the abetment of Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT) charge could not stand as per Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s constitution, the withdrawal of RM1 million was not an offence, and the money was used legitimately for party purposes.
The former youth and sports minister was accused of misappropriating funds belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise (ABBE), a company set up to generate income for Bersatu’s youth wing, Armada, through merchandise sales. The sum was transferred to Syed Saddiq’s personal Maybank account.
For the abetment charge, Syed Saddiq was charged with abetting former Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali in committing CBT by withdrawing RM1 million of party funds in March 2020.
Although the Federal Court is the final avenue for some appeals, on rare occasions, a review of that decision is granted.
A different panel of judges will preside over the review hearing. However, one must first seek leave (permission) before the case is heard substantially.
Among high-profile review cases in the past is that of imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who failed in his review bid against the conviction and sentence in his SRC International Sdn Bhd case back in 2023.
More recently, there was also former Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) chairman Datuk Mohd Isa Abdul Samad's failed review late last month.
In both cases, the different panels found that there was no miscarriage of justice which warranted a review.