BAGAN DATUK - "Orang berbudi, kita berbahasa,” (Good manners should be reciprocated) said Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi regarding his historic attendance at the 2023 DAP Convention this morning.
Zahid, who is also Umno president, said he was merely accepting DAP’s invitation and was surprised by the enthusiastic response he received from delegates at the convention in Putrajaya.
"At the last Umno General Assembly, (DAP secretary-general) Anthony Loke also turned up. The ‘authentic' loud applause just now surprised me. I hope there won’t be all sorts of interpretation,” he told reporters after closing the Malaysia Next Leaders 2023 programme here today.
Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, has broken tradition by becoming the first Umno president to attend a DAP convention. The two parties were political rivals for more than 60 years but are now together in the Unity Government.
Also present at the DAP event were BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Meanwhile, when asked about Perikatan Nasional (PN) Youth's plan to hold a gathering in Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Day on Sept 16 to protest the High Court's decision on his case, Ahmad Zahid said the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) would be conducting more comprehensive investigations into the representation he made regarding the 47 charges in his Yayasan Akalbudi case.
"Demonstrations can be held every day but what is the effect? Any parties disputing the DNAA (discharge not amounting to acquittal) should wait for the AGC decision," he said.
The AGC had said that the department, together with investigative bodies, was still studying new evidence related to the Yayasan Akalbudi case.
New Attorney-General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh said any decision on whether to charge Ahmad Zahid again or otherwise would be made by the AGC after the completion of a more thorough and comprehensive investigation.
Following an application by the deputy public prosecutor, the court granted Ahmad Zahid the DNAA on all the 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering involving Yayasan Akalbudi funds. - BERNAMA