It's a judicial matter, Anwar says on Najib's DNAA
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the discharge not amounting to an acquittal granted to Najib Razak is 'a question for the attorney-general'. (PMO pic)
SUBANG JAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has refused to comment on the conditional discharge granted to Najib Razak earlier today, saying it is a judicial matter.
'I'm not going to weigh in, this is a question for the attorney-general,' he said when met by reporters after performing the Friday prayers in Puchong, here.
Najib was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) earlier today in his RM27 million SRC International Sdn Bhd money laundering case.
Justice K Muniandy made the ruling in the High Court, saying there was nothing to show that the prosecution was 'able to proceed with the case for the time being, or proceed within a reasonable time.'
Last week, Najib's counsel Shafee Abdullah submitted that it was unfair for his client to wait indefinitely for a fixed trial date as the prosecution was unable to provide a timeline to gather the 807 exhibits used in the previous SRC trial.
Najib, 71, had asked for the three money laundering charges, brought against him in February 2019, to be withdrawn.
In a later case which began on April 3, 2019, Najib was slapped with seven charges of abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million in SRC funds.
On July 28, 2020, the High Court convicted the former prime minister of all seven charges. His appeals from his conviction and sentence were dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021 and the Federal Court on Aug 23, 2022.
He received a partial pardon in January last year and is currently serving a reduced six-year prison term.
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