Prosecution retracts letter seeking for judge to prioritise Zahid’s trial

KUALA LUMPUR - The prosecution in Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s case involving the misappropriation of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi, has retracted a letter asking the High Court to prioritise the trial of the case.

Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Malik Ayob said this during the proceedings of the former deputy prime minister’s trial, today.

Abdul Malik said the matter was considered over after the retraction.

Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah then said no one could dictate which court case should be prioritised.

Meanwhile, Zahid's lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Pok Teik said the letter could be construed as putting pressure to the court.

"We hope this trial will be conducted according to the rule of law," he said.

On Tuesday a letter signed by Abdul Malik which was addressed to Sequerah's secretary went viral on Twitter.

The letter stated that Abdul Malik was instructed to make an application to the High Court judge to prioritise Zahid's case over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.

The application was made to enable the trial that was at the defence stage to be concluded immediately.

The owner of the Twitter account (who allegedly circulated the letter) had questioned the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in issuing the letter.

The social media user also urged for the AGC to provide a feedback regarding the matter.

The trial continued with Zahid testifying in his defence.

Zahid is facing 47 charges, 12 of which were for criminal breach of trust (CBT), eight corruption and 27 money laundering charges involving millions of ringgit of funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.