COMMENT | Malaysians will recall the time when Ahmad Zahid Hamidi singled out Malaysiakini reporters and told them that he was "watching them".

We remember the moment when he proudly boasted about his links with the Malay triad "Tiga Line". We were shocked when he said that he looked forward to the day when tahfiz school students would become cabinet members and lead the country.

Today, with the Attorney-General’s Chambers announcing “no further action” (NFA) on Zahid’s corruption-related charges, followed by Zahid moving to convert his discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) into a full acquittal, the government has revealed what reform now means: closure without accountability, legality without legitimacy, and stability purchased at the expense of justice.

Today, many of us will feel that the Madani administration has crossed that line when...