KUALA LUMPUR – Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal’s (Machang-PN) emergency motion to discuss the attorney-general’s (AG) explanation on Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s (Bagan Datuk-BN) discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) has been rejected.
Wan Fayhsal tweeted today that the rejection was due to the order of business in the current Dewan Rakyat sitting but expressed confidence that parliamentarians should convince the speaker otherwise.
“… I believe we can both convince the Dewan Rakyat speaker to give us an opportunity to debate this issue because the people really want to know the truth.”
In the video accompanying the tweet, he said Dewan Rakyat is the place to discuss the problems that the people are facing, and the people want to know what has happened to the country’s judiciary.
Yesterday, it was reported that Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul received the notice on Wan Fayhsal’s emergency motion last Friday.
The Machang MP had requested that the order of business be delayed under Article 18 (1) and (2) of the Standing Orders to make way for the AG to explain the reasons for the DNAA application against Zahid.
Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Tambun-PH) said the special Dewan Rakyat sitting could not be turned into a courtroom to discuss the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision to grant Zahid the DNAA.
He added that the government would not object to MPs asking about the case during a regular sitting.
Previously, Anwar said then AG Tan Sri Idrus Harun had insisted on presenting the DNAA application on September 4 as the following day marked the end of his term before Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh took over on September 6.
He also refuted accusations that he was involved in the DNAA decision, adding that the AG had full powers to handle the case.
Last Monday, Zahid was granted a DNAA on all 47 of his corruption, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering charges involving his foundation, Yayasan Akalbudi. He was also charged with accepting bribes when he was the home minister between 2013 and 2018.
The call was met with severe criticism from certain quarters, including the youth-based party Muda, which pulled support from the unity government. – September 11, 2023