Bar's challenge to Zahid NFA on hold until Federal Court rules
The High Court set 14 June 2027 for case management while the Federal Court hears appeals by the Attorney General's Chambers and Ahmad Zahid in the Yayasan Akalbudi dispute.
The High Court on Monday, 12 October 2026, set 14 June 2027 for case management in the Malaysian Bar's challenge to the Attorney General's decision to take no further action (NFA) against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Yayasan Akalbudi case.
In effect, the challenge is parked until the Federal Court rules on a related appeal, The Edge Malaysia reported.
What happened in court
Malaysian Bar counsel Abhilash Subramaniam told Justice S Indra Nehru about last week's Federal Court decision and asked for a later date for the hearing on whether the Bar gets leave to proceed. The delay, he said, would let the court wait for the outcome of the appeal by the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) and Ahmad Zahid. The Bar also asked for the matter to be fixed online before a High Court deputy registrar.
Federal Counsel Safiyyah Omar and Imtiyaz Wizni Aufa represented the AGC. Datuk Hamidi Md Noh, one of Ahmad Zahid's four lawyers, confirmed the outcome when contacted by The Edge.
The Bar's two challenges
The Bar is in fact running two separate challenges.
The first, against the DNAA. In September 2023, the AGC discontinued the prosecution of Ahmad Zahid on 47 charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, with the case at the defence stage. The High Court judge at the time, Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Federal Court judge), allowed an application by the prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).
The High Court later refused the Bar leave to challenge the DNAA by judicial review. But in May 2026, a three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Datuk Faizah Jamaludin unanimously allowed the Bar to go ahead. The bench ruled that the application was not frivolous or vexatious. While the threshold for challenging prosecutorial discretion is exceptionally high, it found this case rare and exceptional, and sent it back to the High Court.
The second, against the NFA. A DNAA means prosecutors can bring the case again. But on 12 January 2026, Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said Ahmad Zahid's case would not be revisited and classified it as NFA. "Cannot be charged again, already settled once and for all," he said. The Bar filed for judicial review of that decision in April 2026. This is the case now before Indra Nehru.
The Federal Court's role
On Thursday, 8 October, a three-member Federal Court bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Seri Hashim Hamzah granted Ahmad Zahid and the AGC leave to challenge the Court of Appeal's May decision. The apex court will hear two questions of law posed by the AGC and four by Ahmad Zahid's legal team.
Why it matters
The case involves the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also UMNO president, and raises the question of how far prosecution decisions can be reviewed by the courts. Ahmad Zahid has also filed a separate application in the High Court's criminal division for a full acquittal on the 47 charges. That application is still pending because of the Bar's challenge.
What happens next
The Bar's NFA challenge now waits on the Federal Court appeals; the report gave no hearing date. In the High Court, the matter comes up again for case management on Monday, 14 June 2027.
Sources
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