SHAH ALAM - People should see Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as a citizen of Malaysia, not as the Deputy Prime Minister or the President of Umno, who has the right to a fair trial.
Umno Johor Deputy Youth chief Mohammad Aswad Ithnain said that the rights and justice of an individual should be upheld, but unfortunately, the negative perception planted before runs so deep that it is difficult to erase.
"Perhaps on the other side (opposition), they will talk about this (dropping charges against Zahid) as an abuse of power, but his case was discharged without acquittal (DNAA).
"We need to look at why he was DNAA; firstly, no valid evidence was presented for any prosecution, which is why the case was dropped.
"If we want to say this is political interference, are we saying that the country's justice system has been tainted? Certainly not.
"Recently, Perikatan Nasional (PN) Chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was also released and acquitted of corruption charges.
"The same justice system. So, we must be fair and see it as justice for him," he said in the Sinar Siri 411 Forum titled 'By-Election: Mood in Three Corners.'
The programme was hosted by Ismail Adnan and included panelists such as Johor Pas Deputy Youth chief Mohd Azlan Alias; Kota Tinggi Armada Bersatu deputy chief Syafiq Aziz; and Johor Amanah Youth exco Fadhli Umar Aminolhuda.
Mohammad Aswad clarified that if there were allegations of interference in the case, it should start from the beginning, not in the middle or at the end.
"If we look at the book published by former Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas (My Story: Justice in the Wilderness), there is interference and motives from the previous government related to those charges.
"The original charges were 87 cases, but 40 cases were dropped during the time of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, leaving 47 cases, which have now been dropped.
"We need to adhere to the principle that if we want to reject that interference, we need to reject it from the beginning.
"There was political interference at the initial stage of this case, as proven by Tommy.
"That's why the Cabinet agreed to establish an RCI to thoroughly investigate and see if there was indeed interference or motives behind Zahid," he said.
However, Mohammad Aswad denied current allegations of political interference in the case because there is no evidence.
"What evidence do they claim of political interference in the current justice system, compared to the evidence presented by Tommy at the beginning of the charges, as stated in his book," he explained.
Zahid was discharged without acquittal (DNAA) by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday on 47 charges of corruption, breach of trust, and money laundering involving funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Court of Appeal judge), made this decision after Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar informed that the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) had informed that all charges against the Deputy Prime Minister were dropped.