New AG must confirm alleged leak of internal memo against Najib, says Umno Youth chief
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Umno Youth has urged newly-appointed Attorney General (AG) Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh to verify the authenticity of an alleged internal memo leak from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), purportedly suggesting that the government drop the criminal breach of trust (CBT) trial involving Datuk Seri Naji Razak.
In a report by the Malay daily Utusan Malaysia, the wing’s chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh said that if such a leak indeed occurred, his party would file another report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in the future.
“We see from the point of view of justice that it needs to be upheld by anyone regardless of whether he is the opposition or the government and today we want to demand justice.
“We see the case of Datuk Seri Najib Razak being mistreated in terms of the basis of the investigation, there is no basis, but he is still prosecuted. Today we want to ask the new Attorney General to confirm if it is true that the document was leaked, we will make an extension to the MACC.
“We also ask the former attorney general, Tan Sri Tommy Thomas to be prosecuted for abuse of power,” he was quoted as saying.
He also noted that Umno Youth had mobilised its members to file police reports regarding the matter, with the aim of prompting swift and decisive action.
On August 17, AG Tan Sri Idrus Harun was quoted as saying by The Star that the AGC was investigating the matter but stopped short of confirming the authenticity of the memo.
The alleged leaked 12-page internal memo, which went viral on social media recently, is dated September 10, 2019, and addressed to former AG Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
It was purportedly written by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) prosecution team which expressed concern over their apparent inability to build a strong prima facie case for the six charges levied against Najib and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
In October 2018, Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar pleaded not guilty to six charges of CBT amounting to RM6.64 billion in government funds involving payments to IPIC.
Najib and Mohd Irwan Serigar were jointly accused of committing all the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex, Putrajaya between December 21, 2016, and December 18, 2017.
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code which provides for a maximum of 20 years in jail and whipping as well as a fine upon conviction.
