Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah's decision that there was no case to charge International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz for corruption is a political decision, not a legal one, KeADILan Youth Chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor said today.

As long as the A-G does not give a proper explanation on why there was no case against Rafidah, his integrity will be doubted by the public, Ezam told malaysiakini.

He was commenting on a report that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Pandikar Amin Mulia had told Parliament yesterday that the A-G is satisfied that there are no grounds to bring the case to court and Rafidah is freed from all the accusations.

Ezam questioned why the A-G did not detail the report of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), which four years ago had acknowledged that there was an investigation into Rafidah's alleged corruption relating to share allocation to her son-in-law.

According to him, Mohtar had also made similar remarks before the 1996 Umno's party election, which saw Siti Zaharah Sulaiman successfully challenging Rafidah Aziz for the Wanita Umno chief's post.

"This time around, the A-G had again been used as a tool to clear Rafidah's name in the run-up to the May Umno election," Ezam said,

"It seems that the A-G's Chamber is a party in the Umno election," he added.

Ezam was recently charged under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly distributing classified ACA reports on its investigation into Rafidah's case and that of former Malacca mentri besar Rahim Thamby Chik at a press conference last November. If found guilty, he would face a mandatory one-year prison term.

According to DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, Pandikar eluded two pertinent questions when he said the A-G's Chamber was satisfied with the probe conducted by ACA on the issue and concluded there was no clear and adequate proof to prosecute Rafidah,.

"Firstly, why did the A-G over-rule the recommendation of the ACA that Rafidah be prosecuted; and secondly, why did the A-G over-rule the recommendation of his Prosecution Division for prosecution of Rafidah," he said, adding that the Prosecution Division had even framed the draft charges to be leveled against Rafidah.

Pandikar's reply was inadequate and unsatisfactory, he said.

He added that another minister in the PM's Department, Rais Yatim, should give a full and proper reply on Monday in Parliament, which should incorporate a satisfactory explanation of the two issues he raised.