Federal Court allows Zahid, AG to appeal Malaysian Bar’s challenge of DNAA in Yayasan Akalbudi case

The Federal Court in Malaysia has granted leave to Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the Attorney-General to appeal a Court of Appeal decision that allowed the Malaysian Bar to initiate a judicial review.

This review challenges the Attorney-General's decision to discontinue the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.

The Federal Court recognized that the case involves novel constitutional issues, specifically concerning the threshold for judicial review when the Attorney-General's prosecutorial discretion under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution is questioned.

The court also deliberated on specific legal questions regarding the prosecutorial process and judicial review remedies in discharge-not-amounting-to-acquittal situations.

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 8 — The Federal Court today allowed Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the Attorney-General (AG) leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision allowing the Malaysian Bar to commence a judicial review challenging the prosecution’s decision to discontinue the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.

A three-man bench comprising Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Seri Hashim Hamzah and Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali held that the case raises novel constitutional issues of public importance that require clarification and final determination by the Federal Court.

Delivering the unanimous decision, Justice Hashim said the case concerns the threshold for granting leave to commence a judicial review when the AG’s prosecutorial discretion under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution is being challenged.

He said the High Court had applied a two-step threshold based on its interpretation of the Federal Court’s decision in the Sundra Rajoo case, while the Court of Appeal, on the other hand, applied a single-leave test.

“And the test must be applied with greater discipline, caution, and restraint when it involves the AG’s prosecutorial power under Article 145 (3),” he added.

Justice Hashim said both Ahmad Zahid and the AG had met the threshold requirement under Sections 96 (a) and 96 (b) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 for leave to be granted.

He said the court allowed four questions of law proposed by the Deputy Prime Minister and dismissed one, while both questions of law proposed by the AG were allowed.

One of the questions is whether, in cases involving challenges to a decision by the Public Prosecutor in exercising his powers under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution, the two-step threshold must be satisfied before leave to commence a judicial review can be granted.

Another question is whether, when a criminal court made an order of discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) pursuant to the public prosecutor’s application under Section 254 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the remedy for judicial review lies against the Public Prosecutor’s application during the subsistence of the DNAA order?

On May 7, this year, the Court of Appeal granted the Malaysian Bar leave to commence a judicial review to challenge the AG’s decision on September 4, 2023, to halt proceedings against Ahmad Zahid.

The Court of Appeal had overturned the June 27, 2024, High Court’s decision, which rejected the Malaysian Bar’s application for leave to commence the judicial review.

Ahmad Zahid, who is the second proposed respondent in the judicial review proceedings, subsequently filed an application on May 25 this year seeking leave to appeal to the Federal Court. AG Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar filed a separate leave to appeal application.

In the judicial review application, the Malaysian Bar is seeking a declaration from the High Court that the decision by then-High Court Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Federal Court judge) to grant Ahmad Zahid a DNAA on 47 criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering charges related to the Yayasan Akalbudi funds is null and void.

The High Court granted the DNAA after the prosecution informed the court that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) intended to halt proceedings against Zahid to scrutinise new evidence.

During the proceedings, Ahmad Zahid was represented by a team of 11 lawyers led by Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, while Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly@Arwi and Federal Counsel Imtiyaz Wizni Aufa Othman appeared for the AG.

The Malaysian Bar was represented by a team of lawyers led by Datuk S. Ambiga and Steven Thiru. — Bernama

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马来西亚联邦法院已批准拿督斯里艾哈迈德·扎希德·哈米迪博士和总检察长对上诉法院允许马来西亚律师公会启动司法审查的裁决提出上诉。

本次审查对总检察长终止Yayasan Akalbudi腐败案的决定提出质疑。

联邦法院承认，该案涉及新颖的宪法问题，特别是当司法部长根据联邦宪法第 145(3) 条行使起诉自由裁量权受到质疑时，司法审查的门槛。

法院还审议了有关起诉程序和司法审查救济的具体法律问题，尤其是在不构成无罪释放的情况下。

布城，10月8日讯——联邦法院今日批准拿督斯里阿末扎希哈米迪博士和总检察长就上诉法院允许马来西亚律师公会启动司法审查，挑战检方终止阿卡布迪基金会贪污案的决定的裁决提出上诉。

由马来亚首席法官拿督斯里哈希姆·哈姆扎和联邦法院法官拿督诺丁·哈桑和拿督切·莫哈末·鲁兹玛·加扎利组成的三人法官小组认为，此案提出了具有公共重要性的新颖宪法问题，需要联邦法院予以澄清和最终裁决。

哈希姆法官在宣读一致裁决时表示，该案涉及在联邦宪法第 145（3）条规定的检察长自由裁量权受到质疑时，准许启动司法审查的门槛。

他表示，高等法院根据其对联邦法院在 Sundra Rajoo 案中判决的解释，采用了两步门槛，而上诉法院则采用了单一许可测试。

“当涉及总检察长根据第 145（3）条行使的起诉权时，必须更加严谨、谨慎和克制地运用这一检验方法，”他补充道。

哈希姆法官表示，艾哈迈德·扎希德和总检察长均已满足 1964 年《法院法》第 96 条（a）款和第 96 条（b）款规定的准予许可的门槛要求。

他说，法院允许了副总理提出的四个法律问题，驳回了一个，而总检察长提出的两个法律问题均被允许。

其中一个问题是，在对检察官根据《联邦宪法》第 145 条第 (3) 款行使权力所作出的决定提出质疑的案件中，是否必须满足两步门槛才能准许开始司法审查。

另一个问题是，当刑事法院根据《刑事诉讼法》第 254 条第 (1) 款的规定，应检察官的申请作出不构成无罪释放的裁定 (DNAA) 时，司法审查的救济途径是否在于在 DNAA 裁定有效期间针对检察官的申请？

今年 5 月 7 日，上诉法院批准马来西亚律师公会提起司法审查，以挑战总检察长于 2023 年 9 月 4 日作出的停止对艾哈迈德·扎希德进行诉讼的决定。

上诉法院推翻了高等法院 2024 年 6 月 27 日的裁决，该裁决驳回了马来西亚律师公会提出的启动司法审查的申请。

作为司法审查程序中的第二位拟答辩人，艾哈迈德·扎希德于今年5月25日提交申请，请求准许其向联邦法院提起上诉。总检察长丹斯里莫哈末·杜苏基·莫克塔尔也单独提交了上诉许可申请。

在司法审查申请中，马来西亚律师公会寻求高等法院宣告，时任高等法院法官拿督科林·劳伦斯·塞奎拉（现为联邦法院法官）对艾哈迈德·扎希德就与阿卡布迪基金会基金相关的 47 项刑事失信、贪污和洗钱指控作出的免于起诉的决定无效。

高等法院在检方告知法院总检察署打算中止对扎希德的诉讼程序以审查新证据后，批准了DNAA申请。

在庭审过程中，艾哈迈德·扎希德由拿督希沙姆·特·波·泰克领导的 11 名律师组成的团队代表，而高级联邦律师艾哈迈德·哈尼尔·汉巴利@Arwi 和联邦律师伊姆蒂亚兹·维兹尼·奥法·奥斯曼则代表总检察长出庭。

马来西亚律师公会派出由拿督S. Ambiga和Steven Thiru领衔的律师团队出庭。——马新社

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