Putrajaya's war against crime in high places appears to be a farce, judging from the way former cabinet minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik (pic) was charged, and later acquitted, say a former attorney general and a veteran lawyer.
Both Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman and Karpal Singh felt that Dr Ling should not have been charged in the first place and that the four-year court battle which followed was simply a charade by Putrajaya to portray it was serious in getting a "big fish".
They questioned why ex-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement was not recorded before Dr Ling was charged with allegedly cheating the Cabinet over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) land project in 2010.
"If Dr Mahathir's statement was recorded earlier, then the Attorney General would have had to think twice whether to frame charges against Dr Ling," Abu Talib told The Malaysian Insider.
Police only recorded two statements from Dr Ling's former boss in 2011 and early last year as the trial was progressing.
Both Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman and Karpal Singh felt that Dr Ling should not have been charged in the first place and that the four-year court battle which followed was simply a charade by Putrajaya to portray it was serious in getting a "big fish".
They questioned why ex-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement was not recorded before Dr Ling was charged with allegedly cheating the Cabinet over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) land project in 2010.
"If Dr Mahathir's statement was recorded earlier, then the Attorney General would have had to think twice whether to frame charges against Dr Ling," Abu Talib told The Malaysian Insider.
Police only recorded two statements from Dr Ling's former boss in 2011 and early last year as the trial was progressing.