Its president, Karen Cheah, said the Bar is seeking a certiorari to quash the attorney-general’s Sept 4 decision on Zahid’s application for a DNAA.

The Bar also wants the Kuala Lumpur High Court to declare that the AG’s decision is null and void and was made in excess of its authority under Article 145(3) of the constitution and Section 254(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“Having considered at length the facts and circumstances of Zahid’s case, the Bar has taken this legal recourse as part of its statutory duty to uphold the cause of justice, uninfluenced by fear or favour.

“It is the Bar’s concerted view that the AG’s discretionary powers under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution are not absolute and should be restricted in their scope and limit, exercised in a justiciable manner as determined by the courts under its revisionary powers and inherent jurisdiction in accordance with the law,” she said in a statement.

In September, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted Zahid a DNAA on all 47 corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering charges in his Yayasan Akalbudi case.

The Bar contends that the AG’s decision was “unreasonable and tainted with irrationality”, and wants a mandamus order for the AG to give the Bar every information and basis it relied on in deciding to grant the conditional discharge.

This includes the letters of representation Zahid submitted to the AG.

It is also seeking a mandamus order for the AG to provide the Bar with every information on the status of further investigations into Zahid’s case, including any decision to file fresh charges, continue the trial, or drop the investigations.

It also wants to have access to all court matters and documents related to the case.

Cheah said the unsealed copies of the judicial review application and their supporting affidavit were served on the AG today.

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