All options on table for Yusoff, lawyer says on calls for legal action

Summary

• The High Court acquitted Yusoff Rawther, ex-aide to Anwar Ibrahim, of drug trafficking and possessing fake firearms.

• Yusoff is considering legal action against the police and Home Ministry, amid claims from opposition leaders that the evidence was planted and part of a political conspiracy.

• This comes after the Court of Appeal on Tuesday issued an ad interim stay on a separate 2021 civil suit in which Yusoff alleged Anwar sexually assaulted him in 2018.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ex-aide Yusoff Rawther is open to taking legal action against the police and Home Ministry, following his acquittal for drug trafficking and possession of fake firearms.

”All options are on the table,” said Yusoff’s lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali to Malaysiakini today, several hours after the Kuala Lumpur High Court freed his client.

He said this in response to calls from PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari and other opposition leaders for Yusoff to take legal action against the police and the Home Ministry.

Fadhli, in a statement on Facebook today, said the legal action is to reveal who allegedly gave the order to plant cannabis and fake firearms on the former researcher.

“It’s not logical that the cannabis came down from the sky - wherever it came from, there must be a hand that placed it.

“Of course, there is a party that issued the order,” claimed the Pasir Mas MP.

Bersatu supreme council member Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal reshared Fadhli’s post, indicating his support.

He added his certainty that an evil political conspiracy was afoot.

Earlier today, the Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted Yusoff, who was charged with drug trafficking and possessing two imitation pistols.

Judge Jamil Hussin ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case on both charges.

According to Free Malaysia Today, the judge said the prosecution failed to prove that Yusoff had knowledge, custody, and control of the drugs and fake firearms.

Yusoff had defended himself by saying the cannabis and fake firearms were planted to frame him.

In 2021, the former research assistant filed a civil suit alleging that Anwar sexually assaulted him at the PKR president’s office in October 2018.

On Tuesday (June 10), the Court of Appeal issued an ad interim stay on all proceedings involving the suit, after a three-judge panel allowed Anwar’s application to put the suit on hold pending the disposal of the prime minister’s bid to get a full stay.

Decry power abuse, celebrate court ruling

In a separate statement, Bersatu vice-president Radzi Jidin joined in on the chorus of concern over Yusoff’s case, warning against the abuse of power.

“Do not oppress and wrong others even if you have power. Indeed, there is no barrier between the prayer of the oppressed and Allah.

“Power is a test of the world. When the time comes, even the powerful will fall to the ground,” the Putrajaya MP remarked on Facebook.

Similarly, Bersatu supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah welcomed the court’s decision and framed the outcome as a victory for fundamental freedoms.

The Indera Mahkota MP went on to condemn political persecution, especially over political differences, saying that such actions must be firmly rejected.

In a statement on Facebook, Saifuddin urged all enforcement and judicial institutions to act with fairness, professionalism, and independence, without yielding to political pressure.

“We must dare to defend the rights of every Malaysian so that this country continues to be a just and free homeland,” he said.

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