Kepala Batas MP Reezal Merican Naina Merican has urged the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to appeal against the acquittal of former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng and businessperson Phang Li Koon.

Reezal expressed concern that the acquittal would tarnish the AGC’s prestige.

“The AGC has a huge and important moral responsibility to ensure that cases involving high profile individuals are judged as well as possible in an open and fair court.

“The AGC’s statement citing weak procedures and ‘new evidence’ needs to be explained comprehensively to the people. We are concerned and worried that the latest development would only damage the image and prestige of the AGC,” he said.

Already, he said, people are making comparisons between Lim and the former Selangor menteri besar Khir Toyo, whose graft charges landed him in jail.

He said that although the facts of the two cases are different, the same principles should apply.

“The issue of position, personal interests, and so on justifies the retrial of the former Penang chief minister’s case,” he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Masri Daud yesterday asked the Penang High Court to grant Lim and Phang a discharge not amounting to acquittal, following representations from the accused to the AGC.

However, the court decided to grant a discharge and acquittal to the duo instead, after hearing the defence’s plea.

In a statement today, AGC's appellate and trial division head Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria explained that the decision to drop the charges was because the cross-examination of a prosecution witness had substantially weakened the case.