The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) opposed the Malaysian Bar’s application seeking leave to initiate a judicial review to challenge the decision to classify Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi graft case as no further action (NFA) at a case management session today before High Court Judge Alice Loke Yee Ching in Malaysia [1, 2, 3, 4].

The NFA classification was made on January 8, 2026, following a review of new evidence and further investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) [1, 2, 3, 4]. The case involves 47 charges including criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering related to the misuse of Yayasan Akalbudi funds [1, 2, 3, 4].

The Malaysian Bar challenged the NFA decision as unlawful, irrational, lacking sufficient reasons, and beyond the Attorney General’s authority [1, 2, 3, 4]. On May 7, the Court of Appeal allowed the Malaysian Bar’s appeal concerning the prosecution’s discontinuation of proceedings against Ahmad Zahid [1, 3, 4].

In response, the AGC confirmed it will file for leave to appeal at the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal’s decision [1, 3, 4]. Counsel for Ahmad Zahid also plans to file a similar application for leave to appeal and has requested that judicial review proceedings be stayed pending the Federal Court outcome. Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman, representing Zahid, said, "We therefore request that the judicial review proceedings be stayed until the parties return to court to update the status at the Federal Court" [1, 3, 4].

The High Court has fixed June 30, 2026, to determine whether the Malaysian Bar’s application for leave to initiate judicial review should proceed or be stayed pending the Federal Court appeals [1, 2, 3, 4].

Earlier, on September 4, 2023, a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) was granted to Ahmad Zahid by then-High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah in relation to this case [2]. The January 2026 NFA decision came after renewed investigations and reviews.

The case remains active in the courts with the next key hearing scheduled for late June to decide the progress of judicial review proceedings in light of ongoing Federal Court appeals.