Contributed by Gregory Das, Advocate and Solicitor, High Court of Malaya
On the 14th of March 2016, the Malaysian Bar filed a landmark challenge in the High Court of Malaya. The challenge was the first of its kind in recorded legal history. The Bar did not derive any pecuniary benefit from the action. It was a suit filed to protect the independence and integrity of key institutions of state during what was a difficult period in the country.
This is the story of the Malaysian Bar’s judicial review application against the decision of the then Attorney General of Malaysia not to institute a criminal prosecution against the then Prime Minister and, further, the direction to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission of Malaysia (“the MACC”) to cease its investigations into the transfer of funds into the said Prime Minister’s personal bank accounts.
The team that represented the Malaysian Bar was led by two doyens of the profession: Tommy Thomas and Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan. Their appearance for the Bar was befitting of the brief. Never before had a Bar Association filed a court action to challenge the exercise of the prosecutorial powers of the state’s chief prosecuting officer.
The judicial review was filed against the backdrop of an unprecedented international financial scandal which placed Malaysia at the centre of global attention. At the heart of the saga was a Malaysian company named 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”). 1MDB was incorporated as a state investment fund for the purposes of transforming Malaysia into a financial hub.
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