KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is set to appeal against the ruling made by the Court of Appeal which stated that Section 62 of the MACC Act is unconstitutional.
The MACC, in a statement today, said its prosecutors would file an appeal with the Federal Court "as soon as possible".
"The MACC wants to clarify that this decision by the Court of Appeal does not affect the prosecution of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon," it said.
The commission said it was confident and consistent with any decision made, and will continue handling the case transparently, professionally and in accordance with the legal procedures.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Section 62 of the MACC Act was ultra vires when read against Article 5(1) and 8(1) of the Federal Constitution, thus deeming it unconstitutional.
Section 62 of the Act requires accused persons to disclose their defence statements to the prosecution before the beginning of the trial.
However, Article 5(1) states that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty save in accordance with the law, while Article 8(1) states that all persons are entitled to equal protection under the law.
The decision was made after the court allowed appeals by Lim and Phang to declare Section 62 as unconstitutional in their corruption cases.
On March 7, the High Court dismissed Lim and Phang's application after ruling that Section 62 of the MACC Act was constitutional and valid as it did not impede the accused's rights to a fair trial.
Lim pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in relation to the conversion of land from agricultural to residential and the purchase of a plot of land and bungalow at below-market price on June 30 last year.
Lim was charged with power abuse where he used his position as Chief Minister to gain gratification for himself and his wife, Betty Chew Gek Cheng, by approving the application for conversion of agriculture land to a public housing zone in south-west Penang to a company, Magnificient Emblem Sdn Bhd.
He allegedly committed the offence while chairing the Penang State Planning Committee meeting at the operations room, Level 28, Komtar building here, on July 18, 2014.