Mr Loke, who is Malaysia’s transport minister, on Tuesday stressed that the DAP will “always uphold the principle of the separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislative branches, ensuring that there is no executive interference in any court case”.
The PH and Barisan Nasional (BN), which UMNO is a part of, are in an alliance that forms the unity government led by Mr Anwar.
Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has also laid out what is at stake for Mr Anwar’s unity government as they urged the Attorney General’s Chambers to provide an explanation in Parliament regarding the decision.
According to Malaysiakini, Syed Saddiq reportedly said that if there were no detailed explanation on the decision, the party would not hesitate to reevaluate its position in the unity government.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin – who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general – has expressed cynically that the court’s decision will make investors more confident and help spur economic growth in the country.
“It is proven that our leaders … are always protected, especially if they hold high leadership positions in the country.
“We need to be sure that the price of goods and the increase in the cost of living issues will be resolved immediately after this. Congratulations to Ahmad Zahid,” he said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim also took an apparent swipe at Ahmad Zahid’s court decision, saying that there would have been “a massive demonstration” if the discharge granted to a certain “VVVIP” on Monday had happened under a BN government.
Mr Zaid compared it to the SRC International trial of former prime minister Najib Razak last year, lamenting that the “noble arguments” put up then to justify barring Najib from changing his lawyers.
For a period of time, Mr Zaid and his firm served as Mr Najib’s lawyers in the latter’s SRC International trial.
“I am sure if this incident had taken place under the BN leadership, there would have been a massive demonstration. Many quarters will ask where the rule of law is and whether the prime minister should resign.
“But since we now have a reformist leader heading the government, ably supported by DAP, you will not hear anyone making a fuss,” Mr Zaid said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
An analyst whom CNA spoke to said while Ahmad Zahid’s release may strengthen the unity government in the short run, it can be argued that its viability as a ruling coalition is weakened.
“With Ahmad Zahid being freed from those criminal charges, his position within UMNO is strengthened and by extension UMNO will be more likely to stay in the unity government,” said Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
Dr Oh, however, said: “The opposition, namely the PN side, would of course make abundant use of this event as political ammunition in attacking Mr Anwar’s unity government.”
The opposition would argue by saying that this is proof that the unity government is not serious in countering corruption and that similar charges preferred against the PN leaders, Muhyiddin Yassin and such, are politically motivated, he said.
Another analyst whom CNA spoke to shared Mr Loke’s sentiments that the Attorney-General should publicly explain the factors behind the prosecution’s request to drop the charges in Ahmad Zahid’s case.
Political analyst Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya, however, noted: “In this context, it was actually explained by the prosecutor on Monday who represented the voice of the Attorney-General.”
He added that the opposition would certainly claim that Ahmad Zahid’s dropped charges had an impact against Mr Anwar’s reformist agenda.
“The opposition is using the court issue more as political ammunition to oppose the unity government as this propaganda is seen to be effective, though the opposition is facing charges in court as well,” Dr Awang told CNA.
On the performance of the unity government in the two upcoming by-elections in the state of Johor this weekend, Dr Oh said the polls would be a test bed as the opposition, namely PN, would be able to use this event as an ammunition, and thereby increase its vote count.
“So, this will be a barometer to see whether these two seats which previously belonged to PH would be lost partially due to Ahmad Zahid’s release case,” he said.
However, Dr Awang said the party that succeeds in playing up this issue to their advantage as best as possible will be able to influence the decision of the voters there.
“It depends on their strategy,” he said.
The by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state seats will be held on Sep 9. Both by-elections were called following the death of Member of Parliament and assemblyman Salahuddin Ayub on Jul 23 due to brain haemorrhage.
Source: CNA
