Recently, leaked minutes of a PAS meeting had apparently showed that the Chief Justice and Attorney-General had allegedly agreed to expedite the cases involving former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and hand out sentencing.
However, the office of the chief registrar of the Federal Court has quickly shot down the allegations and stated that there was no basis to the claim that Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat had agreed to expedite the cases against the two politicians.
KENYATAAN MEDIATuduhan konspirasi antara pemimpin politik dan Ketua Hakim Negara untuk mempercepatkan kes dan jatuh hukum.Tarikh: 21 April 2022
Posted by Badan Kehakiman Malaysia | The Malaysian Judiciary on Thursday, April 21, 2022
In a statement, the office stated that it has also lodged a police report following the claims to deny allegations of “conspiracy, collusion or illegal alliances” between political leaders and the chief justice.
“The chief justice has never communicated with, and/or been contacted by, any political leaders in relation to court cases involving Dato Seri Najib bin Tun Razak and Dato Seri Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi.”
“Pending cases in court shall proceed in accordance with the law without any intervention by the chief justice or any other person,” it added.
The office stated that the allegations were aimed at “subverting the administration of justice” in Najib and Zahid’s trials, and that the parties behind the claims intended to tarnish the judiciary’s image and cause the public to lose faith in it.
Both of the politicians are still currently on trial for a number of charges. Najib is on trial in two 1MDB-related cases whilst Zahid is facing 87 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.
Back in January, Tengku Maimun had said no individuals had approached her personally to interfere in high-profile cases pending before the courts, and that she would refuse any request to do so.
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