Latheefa Koya criticises prosecution for halting Zahid's trial proceedings

PUTRAJAYA - Former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya has criticised the action of the prosecution in Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's case for halting the trial of the Deputy Prime Minister on 47 charges related to Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

She described the prosecution's decision as embarrassing and questioned the rationality of the decision when the High Court on Jan 24 had ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven a prima facie case at the end of it's case.

"What about the MACC officers who fought hard against corruption throughout their lives.

"What message is this government trying to convey?," she said on Twitter.

Earlier, 11 grounds were given by the prosecution in its application to halt the proceedings against the Umno president.

It included a representation letter by the accused stating that the charges against him among others were made hastily.

Zahid was facing 47 charges, eight of which were for corruption, 12 for criminal breach of trust and 27 money laundering charges involving tens of millions of funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

During the trial at the defence stage, 15 witnesses including the Rural and Regional Development Minister were called to the stand to testify so far.