PAS has called for a white paper to be tabled in Parliament to explain former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s acquittal on two graft charges.

In a statement last night, the party’s secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the case is of public interest and attorney-general Tommy Thomas must, therefore, explain five points:

1. What were the contents of the accused’s representation to the attorney-general;

2. What is the criteria and justification for dropping the case after summoning more than 20 witnesses;

3. Whether the MACC’s opinion had been fully taken into account;

4. Whether the case is binding, whereby other cases with the same facts as Lim’s case would be dropped; and

5. What is the position of previous cases with the same facts but have already been decided upon by the courts.

“Since the case involves an MP, who is also a cabinet minister, a white paper should be tabled in the next parliamentary session to explain this issue to protect and uphold the Parliament’s prestige,” Takiyuddin said.

Yesterday, the Attorney-General's Chambers accepted representations on the case from Lim’s lawyers in the High Court in Penang, and deputy public prosecutor Mohd Masri Daud asked for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

However, High Court judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail granted full acquittals instead to Lim and businessperson Phang Li Koon, who was accused of abetting Lim in obtaining a bungalow at an undervalued cost.