KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) yesterday filed for a judicial review, accusing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of abusing their power in actions taken against the party's leaders.
Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and its public officer Datuk Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya filed the application on behalf of the party, through solicitors Messrs Chetan Jethwani and Co at High Court.
They named 20 individuals, including the government, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki and MACC Investigation Division director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin as respondents.
The application was to review decisions, actions and omissions of the respondents whom Bersatu claimed had abused their power and process in plotting investigations as well as wrongful selective political persecution against Perikatan Nasional's leadership, Bersatu and its president.
Muhyiddin and Suhaimi are also seeking for the High Court to review MACC's action that froze two of Bersatu's bank account and the travel ban imposed on Muhyiddin, to be declared as done mala fide (bad intentions) and to be nullified.
They are also seeking a certiorari order to quash the freezing orders issued by MACC to the party under Section 44(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The court documents showed that the duo wanted the anti-graft body to also release RM4.354 million from their bank accounts to cover the party's expenses, operations and management.
They are also seeking the court to declare that MACC should not follow directives from any leaders of ruling parties, the prime minister and deputy prime minister.
They said the grounds for the application was that the prime minister and his deputy had abused their power in instructing MACC to take action against Bersatu.
"The respondents had acted under Anwar and Zahid's directive for self-preservation, thereby breaching their responsibilities to act fairly and justly.
"The first respondent (Azam) and second respondent (Zamri) were forced to comply with the wishes of Anwar and Zahid as their positions are also at risk," said the documents.
Muhyiddin and Suhaimi also claimed that the respondents, with authority over MACC, had enlisted the fifth to 18th respondents named in the suit to act against Bersatu and its leaders in this political persecution.
They claimed that the respondent had targeted Bersatu and its president by taking actions that included freezing his personal and family bank accounts.
The duo claimed that Azam and Suhaimi were also abusing their power by initiating and announcing investigation against Muhyiddin as a suspect, even though there was no case against him or Bersatu for corruption, misappropriation of government funds or abuse of power.
"Not only Muhyiddin and his family were subjected to malicious defamation, but he was also subjected to a travel ban imposed by the fourth respondent (Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud).
"All this was done to tarnish Muhyiddin's reputation as if he had committed a wrongdoing and was about to escape. This is malicious defamation," said the duo.
The court documents also showed that the party's president was seeking for a certiorari order to quash the travel ban imposed by the Immigration Department on him, as he has a scheduled overseas trip to London next month.
He is scheduled to give a keynote speech at the 1st Annual Conference of the Global Council for Political Renewal (GCPR) on April 14 and 15.
The court's online e-filing system showed that the High Court has fixed April 6 for the judicial review mentions.
Azam was quoted earlier today to have confirmed that Muhyiddin is expected to be charged in court tomorrow, believed to be in relation to the Jana Wibawa programme initiated during his tenure as the former Prime Minister.
This would make Muhyiddin the second former prime Minister in the country's history to be charged for corruption.