Zahid leaves it to AG to explain DNAA

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he is leaving it to the new attorney-general (AG) to give an explanation on the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) that the High Court granted him in his Yayasan Akalbudi case.

Zahid, who is also Umno president, said that as a person involved in the case, he did not have the right to give an explanation.

"Ask the attorney-general as the AG delegated it to the public prosecutor, to state 11 reasons in court. So, as an involved person, I do not have the right to comment.

"But I trust that the new AG and DPP will make the clarification if necessary. But to me, the 11 factors given to the Kuala Lumpur High Court are sufficient because the court has already made a decision," he told reporters after opening a women entrepreneurs carnival at MRSM Batu Pahat today.

On Monday, the High Court granted the DNAA to Zahid on all 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering involving Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah made the ruling after hearing the 11 reasons put forward by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar to stop the proceedings.

Asked about media reports quoting Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor as alleging that an "unseen hand" was involved in the case, Zahid said Sanusi should focus on his duty to develop the state instead of indulging in empty talk.

"There might be unseen hands in Kedah, but not in Johor. I hope he performs his duty well to resolve the people’s problems in Kedah and focuses on his task to develop the state instead of making empty promises as he did in the last election," he said.

Zahid also said he would cooperate with police if called up for an investigation regarding his speech when visiting the Melana Indah Phase 1 People's Housing Project (PPR) in Johor Bahru last Sunday.

"I'm not a candidate; I can campaign for the candidate I like. I hope the police will investigate under the Election Commission Act.

"I feel no offences were committed because, as the minister responsible for rural and regional development, I have the capability and responsibility to give something good," he said.

Yesterday, election watchdog Bersih lodged a police report against Zahid for allegedly making a speech with elements of corruption during his visit to the project.

Bersih chairman Thomas Fann claimed that Zahid seemed to be trying to influence voters, especially in the Pulai parliamentary constituency, when he said improvements to the PPR project would be studied and approved if the Pakatan Harapan candidate won in the Pulai by-election.