KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10): Jelutong MP RSN Rayer on Monday called for Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to be charged again in the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.
Debating Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat, Rayer said the government must not practise selective prosecution or show favouritism in its fight against corruption, adding that anyone accused of an offence should face the courts regardless of their position or political affiliation.
“Why were the charges against Bagan Datuk [MP Ahmad Zahid] withdrawn? Why has he not been charged again when others on this side of the House are being brought to court?” the DAP MP said.
He urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take action and ensure that the attorney general charges Zahid again so that he can stand trial.
Zahid was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on all 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering linked to Yayasan Akalbudi funds on Sept 4, 2023, after the prosecution sought to discontinue the case for further investigation.
The DNAA came after a three-year-and-10-month trial involving 99 witnesses. The High Court had ordered Zahid to enter his defence after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
A DNAA allows the prosecution to bring the same charges again, subject to the applicable legal requirements. Zahid has applied to the High Court for a full acquittal in the Yayasan Akalbudi case. The application remains pending.
Separately, The Malaysian Bar is challenging the prosecution’s decision to discontinue the case. The High Court dismissed its application for leave to seek a judicial review in June 2024, but the Court of Appeal overturned that decision on May 7, 2026, allowing the challenge to proceed.
The Malaysian Bar has also challenged the Attorney-General’s Jan 8, 2026 decision to classify the case as requiring no further action (NFA), with the next case management set for June 14 next year.
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Malaysian Bar files fresh judicial review to challenge AG’s no-further-action decision in Zahid’s trial
Prosecution withdraws all 47 charges against Zahid after four-year trial
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