KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Malaysian prosecutors said on Thursday that they have put an end to their corruption case against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, saying that there was insufficient evidence to continue.
The move by the Attorney General’s Chambers came more than two years after graft charges against Ahmad Zahid, the leader of a key partner in Malaysia’s ruling coalition, were dropped to allow prosecutors to conduct further investigations.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court in September 2023 granted Ahmad Zahid a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering related to funds connected to his charitable foundation.
The 2023 decision raised questions about the government’s commitment to fighting corruption cases, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s party dependent on the support of Ahmad Zahid’s United Malays National Organisation to maintain its parliamentary majority.
The AGC said on Thursday that it has decided that no further action will be taken in relation to the case, adding that the decision was in line with the power and authority of the Attorney General under the Federal Constitution and related laws.
“After examining all the materials and new evidence obtained from the results of the further investigations and research, the AGC, based on the assessment and consideration of the prosecution, found that the available evidence is insufficient to support continuation of the prosecution for all the charges in question,” it said in a statement.
The decision was made “taking into account the interests of justice, integrity of the prosecution process, as well as the need to ensure certainty and accuracy in the criminal justice system,” it added.
(Reporting by Ashley Tang; Editing by David Stanway)
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