KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar failed to initiate a judicial review to challenge the Attorney-General’s (AG) decision to halt proceedings against Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.
High Court judge Justice Amarjeet Singh also dismissed the statutory body’s bid to refer three constitutional questions over the same matter to the Federal Court.
He ruled that the Malaysian Bar did not fulfil the threshold requirement under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act (CJA) to allow leave to be granted, Bernama reported.
“Furthermore, the subject matter is not amenable to judicial review.
“The AG has no duty to furnish the documents (on Ahmad Zahid’s investigations) to the Bar,” he said, and he ordered the Malaysian Bar to pay RM10,000 as cost to the AG.
In the application, the Malaysian Bar had, on Dec 2, last year, named the AG and the Deputy Prime Minister as respondents.
It sought relief from the court for a certiorari order to remove and quash the AG’s decision on Sept 4 last year to apply for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in Ahmad Zahid’s 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering offences linked to Yayasan Akalbudi funds.
It also sought a court declaration that High Court Judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah’s (now Court of Appeal judge) decision to grant the DNAA on Sept 4 was null and void.
Counsel Steven Thiru acted for the Malaysian Bar while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the AG. Lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik appeared for Ahmad Zahid.
