SHAH ALAM, September 7 – Former UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, has commented on the recent decision to drop charges against UMNO President, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in 47 cases involving criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering. He stated that many had already predicted this outcome before the formation of the cabinet. Many believed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would not appoint Ahmad Zahid as the deputy prime minister, but this assumption was proven wrong.
“After that happened (Ahmad Zahid becoming the deputy Prime Minister), time passed, and I saw many concluding that what happened last night, where Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid’s case was not pursued further, would happen, and many were waiting for that day. “But strangely, when it happened last night, even though I was one of those who expected this to happen, I was still surprised. “I feel sorry for Datuk Seri Anwar because yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Reformasi, but it was marked as ‘reformati’,” he said in the Keluar Sekejap (KS) podcast with former UMNO Information Chief, Shahril Sufian Hamdan on Wednesday.
Khairy noted that Anwar had previously struggled to become prime minister and, based on his character development, aimed for a good ending. However, he now has to face this significant issue. “Perhaps in the estimation of PMX, in three to four years, people will forget, maybe there will be new issues or scandals; I believe he will make such estimates as a politician. “Maybe he wants the bad things to be released early, and then he hopes it will recover,” he said. Meanwhile, the former Rembau MP stated that there is a difference between the court’s decisions regarding Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid and Perikatan Nasional (PN) Chairman, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to him, the court’s role is to hear arguments presented by both sides and make decisions based on the evidence presented. “The role of the court acts as a judge; the court is not involved in the prosecution and defense of individuals. “In Ahmad Zahid’s case, the court has decided based on the evidence presented; so far, the prosecution has proven that there is a prima facie case, meaning the judge says there is a case to answer. “Therefore, the burden is on Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid to provide evidence that he is not guilty based on those charges,” he said.
Khairy emphasized that, however, the Attorney General decided with his discretion not to proceed with the trial, which he is entitled to do under the Federal Constitution. “Different from Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s case, the court rejected the charges brought by the prosecution and found the charges ‘defective’ because the information or elements of the offenses in those charges were not sufficient,” he said.
