Summary

  • Projek Sama, Ideas and Haram repeat their demand for the AG to provide a timeline for filing new charges against Najib in the IPIC case.

  • They urge Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim to declassify his ministry’s documents to aid the prosecution.

Civil society groups have renewed pressure on Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to file fresh charges against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak over the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) case.

The groups urged Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the prime minister, to declassify his ministry’s documents to help the prosecution with the case.

“Malaysians do not want to see Najib getting a full acquittal or discharge amounting to acquittal (DAA) due to the failure of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to press new charges in time,” the groups said in a statement today.

“If Najib ultimately secures a DAA due to either the AGC’s failure to refile charges or the Finance Ministry’s refusal to declassify essential documents, Anwar must bear full political responsibility.

“As both the finance minister and prime minister who hold power over the AG’s tenure, his roles are pivotal in ensuring accountability in this case,” they added.

The statement was jointly initiated by Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas Malaysia), and Himpunan Advokasi Rakyat Malaysia (Haram).

Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar

The groups, along with other NGOs, had issued a statement in February with the same demands.

Last November, Najib and former treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah were granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) over six criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges involving RM6.6 billion.

This followed the prosecution’s failure to hand over several classified documents crucial to the two accused to prepare their defence.

The case is linked to alleged payments of RM6,636,065,000 in government funds to IPIC.

‘Not obsessive’

Commenting further, the groups slammed Anwar for questioning the apparent “obsession” people have with Najib and the 1MDB scandal.

“Anwar is respectfully reminded that the public’s demand for the rule of law, no selective impunity on crimes involving the misappropriation of public funds, on which his Pakatan Harapan coalition was elected, is legitimate and not to be ridiculed as ‘obsessive’,” they said.

They went on to lament the silence from the AGC on prosecuting Najib, warning that it increases fear among the public over the former premier possibly escaping justice for good.

“The Federal Court has emphasised that DNAA should only be granted under exceptional circumstances.

“Without such justification, the courts are expected to issue a full acquittal.

“Given the gravity and scale of Najib’s charges and the fact that a DNAA was granted, the AGC must follow through promptly by filing new charges,” they said.

The statement was endorsed by eight other groups, including Aliran, Engage, Islamic Renaissance Front, Kuala Lumpur and the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall civil rights committee.

A further 17 individuals endorsed the statement.