The Collective of Applied Law & Legal Realism (CALR) is the rapid delivery mechanism of AmerBON, Advocates’ pro bono services.
CALR hosted the Legal Aid Chit Chat Clinic No.4 on 19 May 2020 to question why Riza Aziz was controversially granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) money laundering case. The session also touched on employment issues and the economy.
The topics discussed included:
- definition of a DNAA
- implications of Riza Aziz’s DNAA and possible legal redress
- controversies in the Riza Aziz case, including:
- weak justifications for the DNAA
- mismatch between the charges involving US$248 million and the reported return of US$108 million in assets and US$57 million forfeited earlier by the United States
- surprising statement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the counter-statement by former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas
- disputed press release by Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir
- the silence of the lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and former MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya
- nationalisation of private companies and the urgency for a COVID-19 law
- the need to limit the discretion of the Director General of Labour in permitting the deduction of wages under section 24(7) of the Employment Act 1955
The topic on the right to health was postponed to the following session.
This recording can also be accessed at CALR’s Facebook page.
