Appellate court allows Zahid to get his passport back

The Court of Appeal has allowed Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to have his passport back permanently for international travel to attend official functions.

The three-person bench chaired by judge Hanipah Farikullah unanimously allowed the fresh application for the rural and regional development minister.

Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Malik Ayob said he was instructed to raise no objection to the application.

Zahid (above) was seeking a different ruling than that of the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on Feb 3 which dismissed his application for the permanent return of his passport to enable him to perform his duties.

The passport was previously surrendered to the court as part of Zahid’s RM2 million bail terms in his ongoing Yayasan Akalbudi corruption trial.

The other members of today’s bench were judges Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Lim Chong Fong.

During proceedings, the Court of Appeal also allowed an application by Zahid’s defence team to amend the passport-related application from a review to a fresh application per the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994.

‘Not a flight risk’

When met by the media after this morning’s open-court proceedings, Zahid’s counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said that the appellate court allowed the return of the minister’s personal passport as well as diplomatic passport, which is a variation of his bail conditions.

“The grounds (cited for the application) was that there has been a change of circumstances after the 15th general election (GE15) as the applicant (Zahid) was made deputy prime minister and a minister (of rural and regional development).

“He needs the passport for the purpose of performing his duties. He is not a flight risk and at all times he has appeared before the (High) Court,” the lawyer said, adding that Zahid and his bailor had given an undertaking in their affidavits that he be in court.

Zahid was seen leaving the Palace of Justice after the brief open-court proceedings.

The ongoing High Court trial is over the Bagan Datuk MP’s case involving 47 counts of graft, criminal breach of trust (CBT), and money laundering involving millions of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

The trial is now in the defence stage, following the court ordering him to enter his defence on Jan 24 last year.

The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah will resume on April 10.

Rosmah gets back passport to travel to Singapore

Nov 6 trial for Zahid's defamation suit against Dr M

I've already faced what you're going through, Zahid tells Muhyiddin

Court allows interim return of Zahid's passport

Court reschedules Zahid’s Yayasan Akalbudi corruption trial to April