Big no from Bersih for court clusters in new Cabinet

SHAH ALAM - The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) strongly objects the appointment of Cabinet members among politicians with ongoing criminal cases as this would raise doubts on the government’s integrity and tarnish the country’s reputation.

In a press statement, Bersih expressed their concern on suggestions that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi be considered for the post of Deputy Prime Minister.

“Zahid is still on trial for 47 criminal breach of trust charges involving the Yayasan Akalbudi case. Even though he had been acquitted for the 40 corruption charges on the VLN visa scheme case by the High Court on 22 September 2022, the prosecution has filed an appeal for this case,” Bersih noted.

Bersih also pointed out that similarly, other elected representatives who have ongoing corruption cases such as Lim Guan Eng, Syed Saddiq and Bung Mokhtar should not be appointed to the Malaysian Cabinet until after their cases have been fully disposed of by the courts without any interference from the Executive through the Attorney-General Chambers.

The coalition opined that until and unless both the prosecution and the judiciary are absolutely free from political influence, politicians with outstanding court cases taking up executive positions are politically unacceptable.

This is because any acquittals will be seen as the granting of impunity to those aligned with the Executive even if their cases genuinely merit acquittal. This would undermine the public trust in both the AGC and the judiciary.

“Bersih urges all parties in the coalition government to refrain from putting forth any names of individuals with ongoing court cases to the PM for consideration as he forms his Cabinet.

“Bersih reiterates the urgent need to reform the AGC by transferring its powers to prosecute to an independent Public Prosecution Office. As an immediate measure, the prosecution role should be temporarily transferred to the Solicitor-General, the apolitical number two in the AGC to take a neutral position on all ongoing cases especially those involving politicians,” Bersih stressed in its statement.

Bersih also insisted that the handling of these cases should not be used as bargaining chips for the formation of the cabinet.