Bersatu urges AG, govt to explain sudden absence of lead prosecutor in Zahid trial

The government must immediately explain the sudden absence of a senior government lawyer in the corruption trial of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Bersatu said today amid speculation that senior deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran might have been removed from the prosecution team she had been leading since the beginning of the case.

"I call upon the attorney-general and the government to provide an immediate and public explanation, including cogent reasons, for the removal or replacement of Raja Rozela. 

"This is essential to maintain public confidence in our criminal justice system," said Bersatu lawyer Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif from the party's legal and constitutional bureau.

On Thursday, the New Straits Times reported that Raja Rozela, who had had several tense exchanges with Zahid during the trial, had been absent since Monday, and was not in court when trial resumed on Wednesday.

The paper said it had failed to obtain a response from Attorney-General Idrus Harun as well as another deputy public prosecutor involved in the trial, Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.

But one of the lawyers on the prosecution team said it was not certain whether Raja Rozela had been "permanently taken off the case".

Sasha described Raja Rozela as an "effective and hardworking prosecutor", adding that she had been firm in her conduct as prosecutor throughout the trial, even after Zahid's controversial appointment as deputy prime minister despite the 47 criminal charges against him.

"This prosecution against a sitting deputy prime minister is a matter of high public interest. It must be seen to be carried out independently and transparently, without any interference," she said. 

"Hence, it is inappropriate and unacceptable for Raja Rozela to be replaced without any reasons given to the public or to the court. 

"Criminal prosecutions must be carried to their conclusion, irrespective of the status of the accused person," she added.

Zahid faces 47 charges: 12 of criminal breach of trust (CBT), eight of corruption, and 27 of money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

Among the CBT charges is that he allegedly settled his credit card debts using Yayasan Akalbudi through 44 cheques amounting to some RM1.3 million between January 2013 and December 2016.