Why charge Najib if not ready, Puad questions AGC's credibility

Summary

• Umno's Puad Zarkashi questions why three successive attorneys-general charged Najib Abdul Razak if they were not ready.

• He also dismisses political distractions, particularly from PKR’s Rafizi Ramli, stressing that the focus should be on identifying what caused the case to stall, rather than simply recharging Najib.

Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi questioned the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ credibility following the High Court's decision to grant former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).

“Why did the three attorney-generals charge Najib if they were not ready. Where is the AGC's credibility?

“Six years through three AGs. It started with Tommy Thomas, (then) Idris Harun and Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh," Puad (above) said in a statement today.

Yesterday, High Court judge K Muniandy stated that the DNAA, which temporarily drops the charges, does not prejudice the prosecution as they remain free to refile charges against Najib when ready.

He noted that the case against Najib has been pending since 2019 without a single witness called and has instead been marked by persistent postponements, indicating that the prosecution is not prepared to proceed.

The AGC later that day said it "did not have any other choice" but to await the conclusion of Najib's 1MDB and the first SRC International trials, before it could use the overlapping documents required for the second SRC International case.

Commenting further, Puad said the issue should not be clouded by political rhetoric or deflected with calls for Najib to be charged again, referring specifically to remarks by PKR MP Rafizi Ramli.

"No need to listen to Rafizi, 'the king of formulas'. He called for Najib to be charged too," he said.

He added that the issue was not Najib being recharged in the case, but identifying the root cause of the DNAA.

Rafizi’s call

Yesterday, Rafizi urged the prosecution to explain the weakness that led to Najib's DNAA.

The former economy minister also called on the prosecution to confirm that the AGC will refile the charges as soon as possible and ensure that all documents are in order, so the case can proceed without further delay.

On Feb 3, 2019, Najib, 72, was charged with three counts of receiving RM27 million in proceeds from unlawful activities through three AmPrivate Banking accounts under his name at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, located in the Ambank Group building on Jalan Raja Chulan, on July 8, 2014.

The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM5 million, or both.

Najib has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since Aug 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International.

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