Rosmah's acquittal: Prosecution reform calls grow after high-profile acquittals

We, the undersigned organisations, urge Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to announce a concrete timeline for the separation of public prosecution from the Attorney General Chambers.

Further, before this separation is complete, the PM must make a commitment to the public that the chambers will not file for a discharge amounting to an acquittal or not amounting to an acquittal, withdraw its appeal, fail to file an appeal in time, or commit litigative errors to enable an acquittal for any case of corruption, abuse of power, money laundering, criminal breach of trust or tax evasion involving politicians, their families and associates.

If any VIP suspect was to walk free from their charges, it must be the decision of the judges after a full trial and upon final appeal, not that of the attorney general appointed by the PM.

While we welcome the Attorney General’s Chambers immediate announcement to file an appeal against Rosmah Mansor’s acquittal today by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on all 12 money laundering charges involving RM7m and five charges of tax evasion, it is far from enough to restore public confidence.

High Court judge K Muniandy ruled that the charges were bad in law. The money-laundering charges apparently did not even specify the key elements of the money-laundering offences.

In fact, public confidence in the Attorney General’s Chambers has long been shattered by a series of flawed decisions or misconduct, which include:

Anwar cannot excuse his responsibility, as he tried in Zahid’s discharge not amounting to an acquittal, when kleptocrats walk free under the watch of the attorney generals he chose and put in place.

As long as public prosecution is not separated from the Attorney General’s Chambers, and the attorney general’s tenure is controlled by the PM, the buck stops with the PM, not the attorney general.

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