The recent admission by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Azam Baki that he had received a summons letter filed by former finance minister Daim Zainuddin must have certainly caught many in the country by surprise.
Furthermore, it is also bound to have raised serious concerns among the public whether the country's government enforcement agencies are sufficiently protected in the course of discharging their duties.
In fact, according to a report in BNN, it was confirmed that Daim had indeed filed a lawsuit against the MACC chief, where the gist of the suit was reportedly an injunction aimed at Azam's actions, which include making prejudicial remarks and ignoring judicial instructions regarding asset declaration.
This was in relation to the graft-busting agency’s case against the former Umno treasurer, accusing him of failing to disclose a significant portion of his wealth, consisting roughly 70 assets including an ASB account, vehicles, companies and properties.
The report further stressed that this legal showdown seemed to be more than just a personal dispute, adding that it may also be reflective of the challenges facing governments’ anti-corruption drive worldwide in underlining the need for robust enforcement measures while at the same time ensuring adherence to the principles of fairness and justice.
Meanwhile, as was reported by NST, Daim’s lawyers have also accused Azam of persistently issuing statements concerning the former finance minister’s ongoing legal case, alleging that the MACC chief's remarks were not only sub judice but also prejudicial, as the presiding judge had earlier cautioned against any further commentary on the case.
For the record, Daim - who had served as the country's finance minister from 1984 to 1991 under Dr Mahathir’s premiership - was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on January 29 for failing to comply with a notice by not declaring his assets; however, he had pleaded not guilty and had requested for the trial to proceed.
Anyway, to be fair to Daim, it is believed that the latest move by his lawyers may be related to the recent announcement by Azam that apparently the former still had “other undeclared assets” and that he may be summoned again to MACC.
Nevertheless, while the reclusive millionaire may be entitled to feel aggrieved by the way the compelled asset declaration was handled by MACC - which according to his legal team, was allegedly prejudicial to his “right to a fair trial” - was it a coincidence then, that a similar narrative was also employed by Najib Razak’s lawyers in relation to the SRC trial involving RM42mil - including on the Pardons Board's decision when they pushed for a full pardon!
Moreover, won't it also trigger some serious questions in the minds of many with regard to fair and equal treatment for everyone in the eyes of the law? This is because, the impression given to the general public would be that, when the “rich and powerful” are hauled to court, it's as if, they can use their financial clout to get their lawyers to invoke the “denied the right to a fair trial” clause as well as exploit other legal “loopholes” to try force their cases to be delayed - or even dropped!
In fact, as some right-thinking people may tend to argue, in a just world, shouldn't the accused stand trial first and the case be allowed to proceed uninterrupted - and only in the event of a guilty verdict shall the person be allowed to pursue legal redress?
If not, as some may point to Najib’s SRC trial, it can take several years for a fairly straightforward case to be concluded with countless delays, disruptions and “diversions” - in the end, wasting three different courts' resources and nine different judges' precious time as well as thousands of taxpayers' hard earned money. No doubt, as many may be prompted to ask, will this trend continue for future high-profile cases too?
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