Blame falls on Prime Minister Anwar because he and the government could have very easily declassified documents, now probably under the Official Secrets Act - and that would have enabled the Prosecution to provide documents needed by the accussed to ensure a fair trial. Some of these OSA documents may also be needed by prosecution to use as evidence to be able to effectively prove the guilt of the accused, in this case Najib and Irwan Serigar.
The practice of marking documents, correspondence, etc as "Official Secret" must end - There is a NEED for TRANSPARENCY - worse, when this practice IMPEDES THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE or Justice in Malaysia.
The evidence required to PROVE guilt of Ministers, Public Officers and Others EXIST - but the problem is that these documents/transactions are marked "SECRET" - 'Official Secret'. It causes problems to LAW ENFORCEMENT and prosecution in their quest to bring 'CRIMINALS' to Justice - this is so wrong.
THE RIGHT OF ACCUSED - In my opinion, any accused in criminal cases especially must be provided in advance before the commencement of trial ALL DOCUMENTS and INFORMATION in the hands of Prosecution that is related to the case. This is NEEDED to ensure that the accused is given every opportunity to prepare his/her Defense and get a FAIR TRIAL. This includes information or material that are favorable to the accused.
PROBLEM because prosecution now cannot give documents/materials marked 'Official Secret' - and the power to declassify and make it available lies with Prime Minister Anwar and his government.
The marking of documents as OFFICIAL SECRETS protects Ministers and public officers - as the EVIDENCE needed to prove the GUILT or WRONGDOINGS cannot be used as it is marked 'SECRET" - this is ABSURD.
What is ANWAR's position - Protect possible criminals by not making the 'official secret' material available to be used by prosecution and/or the accused? OR will be AGAINST CRIME, especially by Ministers and public officers, and forthwith DE-CLASSIFY all these documents/Materials needed for the CRIMINAL TRIAL?
According to the defence, the hundreds of documents involved correspondence between ministries, Cabinet and government agencies.
Najib and Irwan Serigar granted DNAA in RM6.6b IPIC CBT case after trial stalled since 2018
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah were today granted discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) from all six charges in a trial involving RM6.6 billion of government funds.
High Court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin granted the order by way of the inherent powers of the court after lawyers representing both the accused wrote in their formal applications seeking a DNAA for their client.
“These are my brief grounds. First, the prosecution failed to abide by Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
”Second, the DNAA does not prejudice the prosecution as they can recharge the accused.
”Third, this case was registered in 2018 but the trial cannot proceed even when trial dates have been set many times. This is an inordinate delay,” he ruled.
Section 51A of the CPC requires the prosecution to provide the accused with certain documents before the commencement of a trial.
A DNAA would allow the prosecution to charge the accused with the same charges in the future, as opposed to an acquittal where the prosecution cannot bring the accused back to the court to be charged with the same charges.
In other words, both men do not walk scot-free as the DNAA simply means that they can be charged again on similar grounds at a later date.
Earlier, the court heard submissions from counsels on whether he could use his inherent powers to give the DNAA as the application was made by the defence, not the prosecution.
Under Section 254 of the CPC, the prosecution can apply for a DNAA but the final decision rests with the court.
Deputy prosecution head II Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi conceded that the judge could invoke his inherent powers to grant the DNAA order and that it was up to the court’s discretion.
In July, both Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar made separate requests to the court seeking for a DNAA due to the prosecution’s delay in handing over hundreds of documents to the defence to mount its case against the charges.
Earlier this week, defence lawyers had also argued that the criminal’s charges have been hanging over their client’s head for the last six years, with proceedings having been postponed three times this year to afford time for the prosecution to get the documents in order, some of which are classified.
According to the defence, the hundreds of documents involved correspondence between ministries, Cabinet and government agencies.
Today’s hearing was their third attempt. The first DNAA application was made in March 2022.
Lawyers Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Datuk K. Kumaraendran appeared for Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar respectively.
In October 2018, Najib and Irwan Serigar pled not guilty to six charges of CBT amounting to RM6.6 billion in government funds, involving payments to International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) that were also said to be linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code which provides for a maximum of 20 years in jail and whipping as well as fine upon conviction. - Malay Mail, 27/11/2024
He raised this in response to the Kuala Lumpur High Court granting former premier Najib Abdul Razak and former treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) over six criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges involving RM6.6 billion.
This was after the prosecution failed to hand over several classified documents crucial for the two accused to prepare their defence.
In a statement this evening, Rafique said fingers should not be pointed at the court for the decision.
“Most of these documents are stamped as ‘classified’. They cannot be used unless their ‘official secret’ status is removed.
“The government holds the authority to impose or remove the ‘official secret’ stamp. Who forms the government now?” he asked.
Rafique noted that among the documents stamped as “official secret” with regard to this case were minutes of cabinet meetings and those of the Finance Ministry.
“Who is the current minister?” he asked in reference to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who also holds the finance portfolio.
Rafique pointed out that Section 2C of the Official Secrets Act 1972 (Act 88) is clear that the power to remove the “official secret” status of documents lies with the minister.
“Why has the government not acted?” he asked.
“What is so secretive? The courts can only decide on what is presented before them,” he added.
Rafique has demanded that the attorney-general answer to Parliament regarding this matter.
“Do not use the excuse that DNAA allows for re-prosecution. Six years wasted. Who will be next, and how much longer will be wasted?
“How much longer will the people be deceived?” he asked.
The criminal case has been longstanding since Najib and Irwan were first charged before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Oct 25, 2018. The case was later transferred to the High Court.
The CBT criminal case
against Najib and Irwan is linked to alleged payments of RM6,636,065,000
in government funds to the International Petroleum Investment Company
(IPIC), a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi. - Malaysiakini, 27/11/2024
Anti-graft group slams AGC over Najib-Irwan DNAA in IPIC case
C4 questions the AGC’s failure to declassify and deliver 200 sets of documents to the defence when the prosecution had six years to do so.
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) said the prosecution’s failure to deliver 200 sets of documents to the defence raised serious questions about the AGC’s ability to perform its duties.
“Does the AGC not have sufficient stature to ensure inter-agency cooperation for prosecutions? If not, is this indicative of a major flaw in the effectiveness of the Malaysian criminal justice system?” it said in a statement.
C4 urged the AGC to explain the failure to declassify and deliver the documents, which are still under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), when the prosecution had six years to do so.
It also urged the government to amend the OSA to remove the arbitrary power to classify documents as official secrets, which is currently granted to any minister, chief minister, or public officer.
“If the government is serious about an impactful anti-corruption effort, it must immediately address how the OSA can shut down prosecution for public sector corruption,” it said.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted Najib and Irwan’s application for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in their IPIC case yesterday following the prosecution’s failure to supply key documents to the defence.
Najib and Irwan were charged in 2018 with six counts of misappropriating public funds intended for payment to IPIC, an Abu Dhabi-owned corporation.
Justice Jamil Hussin said the documents were not delivered to the defence despite the trial dates being fixed, describing this as “an inordinate delay”.
The prosecution previously said some documents had been handed to the defence but that others from several ministries could not be given as they were under the OSA.
Separately, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng urged the AGC to review the IPIC case to confirm if it had evidence to back the initial charges against Najib and Irwan.
“The AGC needs to review this case immediately and, if there is solid evidence, Najib and Irwan must be charged again without any delay.
“All important documents needed for the prosecution of the pair must be fully prepared and submitted in a thorough and orderly manner, so that the trial can proceed smoothly without any technical issues or hindrance,” he said in a statement.
Lim added that the case was a major test of the AGC’s commitment to the rule of law and justice. - FMT, 28/11/2024
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment