The petition calls for a moratorium to be imposed on any Discharge Not Amounting to Acquittal until the roles of the Attorney-General and Public Prosecutor are separated; to have such a separation to be effected by the end of 2024; to reopen the case against DPM Zahid Hamidi whose recent shock discharge created public outrage and fear; and to not close an eye and allow the government's appeals in high profile cases to 'accidentally' lapse.
"Our request and the expectation of the Malaysian public is simple - we want the rule of law," the coalition of NGOs said in a statement.
"If Najib and Rosmah can walk free, as if they were victims of selective prosecution after their crime in the 1MDB scandal brought our country to the brink of financial collapse, Malaysia would reappear as a pariah economy without rule of law, driving global investors away."
REMINDER TO INCREASINGLY SWELL-HEADED REGIME WHO'S BOSS
BERSIH reminded the Anwar regime, which has been accused of becoming increasingly swell-headed and forgetful of their election promises, that they owe their power to the Malaysian public.
"Anwar Ibrahim and PH owe their power to the public wrath against corruption," the NGOs stated in no uncertain terms.
Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Malaysians took to the street in peaceful protests during the Bersih 4 and 5 rallies in 2015 and 2016 respectively, demanding accountability and institutional reforms in the wake of the exposé of the 1MDB scandal.
Malaysians across the political spectrum continued to reject corruption in GE15 as the two main coalitions that campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), won 68% of votes combined.
"This directly contributed to the ouster of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government at GE14 in 2018, which undid the selective impunity enjoyed by Najib, Rosmah, Zahid and the likes.
"The Malaysian public expects a strong political will from Anwar to combat systemic corruption and uphold the rule of law, which must include allowing Najib, Zahid and others to undergo fair and un-interfered trials."
BUT WHAT WON'T ANWAR REGIME DO TO STAY IN POWER?
According to the statement issued by the BERSIH secretariat, Zahid's DNAA is a "shocking example of the discretionary power of the AG who doubles up as the Public Prosecutor (PP) under the current law".
Apart from Zahid's case, there have also been a slew of corruption cases in the past several years involving politicians or those closely connected with them that have been DNAA or totally acquitted. These have happened, usually after a change of government or allegiance, and as such have sent the public the demoralizing message that "one's innocence is closely tied to one's power".
"This cannot go on. The AG should not double up as the PP and reforms to separate the role of the PP from the AG must happen so that the PP is an independent office that is free from political interference," said the NGOs.
ONLINE PETITION
Given that the AG, as the PM's appointee, holds such wide-ranging power to withdraw criminal cases as demonstrated in Zahid's DNAA, the Malaysian public and civil society have expressed concern Najib's three remaining cases related to 1MDB and income tax, as well as his wife Rosmah's RM7.1 million case of money laundering and tax evasion.
"Will the former PM and his wife be similarly released from their corruption charges, and in the case of Najib, to pave the way for his pardon in the SRC case?" asked the NGOs.
The BERSIH-led online petition calls on Malaysians to urge the Prime Minister to act on the four demands to uphold the rule of law and political stability. It can be signed at https://chng.it/ZdvrfkrQBx
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