PUTRAJAYA: The overturning of the Court of Appeal's landmark decision - that Section 62 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 was unconstitutional - will set the tone for future trials.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki said the decision made by the Federal Court would not only facilitate the prosecution team in its corruption case against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon, but also allow for a fair trial.
The Federal Court, via a five-man panel on Thursday, had in a unanimous decision, upheld MACC's appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling.
Azam said the decision would also set the way future proceedings would be carried out.
“The Federal Court is the highest court in the country and its decision cannot be disputed.
“In the future, when we provide evidence and documentation to the defence team before a trial starts, the defence team must also provide the prosecution team with their line of defence.
“It means the trial will be fair,” he said.
Azam was speaking to reporters after MACC's media appreciation dinner at the commission’s new headquarters in Presint 7, here tonight.
Azam said Section 62 of the Act - which requires accused persons to disclose their defence statements to the prosecution before the beginning of a trial -was rarely used by the commission.
In August, the Court of Appeal had ruled that Section 62 of the MACC Act was ultra vires when read against Article 5(1) and 8(1) of the Federal Constitution, and was thus unconstitutional.
Article 5(1) states that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty, save in accordance with the law, while Article 8(1) states that all persons are entitled to equal protection under the law.
On March 7, the High Court had dismissed Lim and Phang's application after ruling that Section 62 of the MACC Act was constitutional and valid as it did not impede the accused's rights to a fair trial.
The decision was made after the court allowed appeals by Lim and Phang to declare Section 62 as unconstitutional in their corruption cases.
On March 20, Lim and Phang's defence teams had applied to appeal against the court's decision on March 7 to dismiss the motion to declare Section 62 of the MACC Act 2009 as "unconstitutional".
Lim pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in relation to the conversion of land from agricultural to residential and the purchase of a plot of land and bungalow at below market price on June 30 last year.