AGC under fire after IMDB-linked charges against Najib dropped

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's public prosecutors have drawn flak from analysts and observers after former prime minister Najib Razak and former treasury chief Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah were on Nov 27 granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in a graft case linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund scandal.

- Zunaira Saieed

The two had been charged in 2018 with six counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM6.6 billion (S$2 billion) in government funds paid to Abu Dhabi's state fund International Petroleum Investment Company.

Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin said there was an extreme delay in the case due to the prosecution's failure to provide the defence with crucial documents.

He said the DNAA was granted because the prosecution did not comply with Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which mandates that the prosecution must provide the accused with specific documents before the trial begins.

"The DNAA order does not prejudice the prosecution's case. The prosecution could still re-charge them again," said Justice Jamil.

Mr Halmie Azrie Abdul Halim, a senior analyst at political risk consultancy Vriens & Partners, said the prosecution's inability to provide the necessary documents reflects poorly on the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC).

"It's incompetence from the AGC's side. Six years is more than enough to share relevant documents. If they couldn't share the documents, citing the Official Secrets Act (OSA) as the reason, then the prosecution should have withdrawn the case. Now the prosecution has to re-charge, if the AGC is still inclined to do so," he said.