4-9-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) The Malaysian political landscape has been rocked in recent times by another controversy that threatens to undermine public trust and confidence. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had 47 charges of corruption and money laundering hanging over his head in what had been a lengthy and highly publicised trial. However, in a surprise move, the High Court has now partially dropped the charges against him, seeking a so-called discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
This decision has stunned many in Malaysia and raised serious questions about political interference in the justice system. Ahmad Zahid and his party UMNO played a key role in helping opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim become Prime Minister after inconclusive elections last year. Anwar had campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and making a clean break from the past. However, the sudden dropping of charges against such a senior UMNO figure threatens to undermine those goals and promises. It will invite intense scrutiny on other politically sensitive corruption cases still before the courts.
Ahmad Zahid’s trial had been underway for some time, hearing evidence from both prosecution and defence witnesses. In January last year, the High Court had even ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against the defendant. So for the charges to now be partially dropped at such an advanced stage has baffled legal experts and disappointed ordinary Malaysians. The prosecution is no longer precluded from refiling charges in future, but questions will linger over why this request was made now and whether politics was a factor.
Anwar himself has acknowledged being grateful to Ahmad Zahid and UMNO for helping him become Prime Minister through their backing. However, his close aides insist he did not interfere in any way with the judicial process. It is undeniably a major optics problem though that will be difficult to explain away. Malaysians are already quite cynical and distrustful of the country’s messy political maneuvering, endless scandals and revolving door of leaders over recent times. This latest twist ensures those sentiments will only harden further.
It also has huge ramifications for UMNO’s political comeback efforts. The party was crushed in the 2018 elections amid public uproar over the multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption scandal and graft allegations against former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is now serving a 12 year prison sentence. Ahmad Zahid took over the UMNO presidency and has tried consolidating his position by sidelining rivals with claims of political victimisation. However, the corruption charges hanging over him hindered efforts to rebuild trust with sceptical Malaysians.
While the court decision removes this immediate obstacle, senior UMNO figures acknowledge it will be an uphill struggle to convince people the party has genuinely cleaned house and reformed its values. UMNO and its allies only secured 30 seats in the last election, though this bloc ended up being pivotal in Anwar forming a government. Their support was secured through backroom dealing but doing so has compromised the government’s message on fighting corruption from day one in office.
For ordinary Malaysians wearied by the country’s messy political infighting, it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. New leaders and coalitions come and go, yet the same old political games, backroom deals and questionable legal maneuvers continue undermining governance. There are fears this damaging episode will become yet another nail in the coffin for public faith in the integrity of Malaysian democracy. Future elections may see many voters staying home out of a sense of powerlessness in the face of such cynical political maneuvering between self-interested elites. Getting the country back on track will require more than just repeated promises of reform.
In the meantime, Ahmad Zahid and UMNO have been handed a lifeline by this court decision but maintaining any momentum from it remains difficult. The damage to perceptions from his corruption trial will not be so easily erased. Anwar’s coalition government also has some serious relationship and credibility problems to remedy in the weeks ahead if its message of change is not to be completely undermined so early in its time in office. Malaysian politics seems stuck repeating the same unfortunate patterns, much to the ongoing dismay of its long-suffering citizens. meaningful and lasting change may only come through sweeping political reforms to fix the root issues enabling such dysfunction to persist.
