Bar takes AG to court for not pressing charges against Najib
The Malaysian Bar has filed for a judicial review on attorney-general Mohd Apandi Ali's decision not to press charges against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
In its application, the Bar is seeking orders from the High Court to set aside Apandi's Jan 26 decision exonerating Najib and his instructions to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to close its investigations.
It also wants the court to bar the attorney-general from making any further decisions on the matter, and allow the solicitor-general to make those decisions instead, including on whether or not to prosecute Najib.
It is also seeking court orders to allow the MACC to continue with the investigations previously ordered to be closed by Apandi.
“The Malaysian Bar is of the view that the discretionary prosecutorial powers conferred on the attorney-general by Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution are not absolute or unfettered, and the exercise of these powers can be challenged in a judicial review action.
“The scope and ambit of the discretionary prosecutorial powers, and whether these powers were exercised in accordance to law on the facts of any given case, should be determined by the courts,” Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru said in a statement today.
[More to follow]
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now