He said Anwar’s unity government would become more stable. “It is a guarantee that will of course be expressed by the Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman,” he said, referring to Zahid, who holds both posts.

Anwar’s unity government is formed by a coalition of Pakatan Harapan, BN and East Malaysian parties and holds 147 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, of which BN holds 30 through Umno (26), MCA (2), MIC (1) and PBRS (1).

Wan Fayhsal said the Zahid decision had created a bad legal precedent, and Anwar’s government “must take responsibility for this catastrophe”.

“The decision is very surprising especially when the prosecution under the previous head of prosecution, Raja Rozela Raja Toran, had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against Zahid,” he said.

He questioned why Zahid was not allowed to continue to make his defence in the trial. “If Zahid has a good defence, why withdraw the case at this stage? This is the time for Zahid to prove to the people that he is not guilty at all,” said Wan Fayhsal.

Zahid had been accused of embezzling millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister between 2013 and 2018.

At the resumption of his trial this morning, Zahid was granted a conditional discharge by High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on an application by the prosecution. Zahid’s lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, asked the court to acquit Zahid.

The discharge not amounting to an acquittal allows the prosecution to resume the case or bring a case against Zahid at any time in the future, based on similar facts and evidence.