Karpal’s bid to review ruling rejected

PUTRAJAYA - Lawyer Karpal Singh failed in his bid to review and set aside the Appellate Court's ruling which ordered him to enter his defence on a sedition charge.

In a unanimous decision, Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif who presided over a three-man panel, dismissed his application as there was no merit.

The panel, comprising Court of Appeal judges Datuk Sulaiman Daud and Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi, made the ruling after hearing submissions from Karpal and Deputy Public Prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin.

Earlier, Karpal submitted that he filed the review only on one ground, that one of the three Court of Appeal judges in the previous panel, Datuk Clement Allan Skinner, was not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

He said, if Skinner was not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, he would not be able to understand the 105-page judgement written and prepared by Justice Datuk Ahmad Maarop in the languange, which would result in quorum failure.

Karpal said the appeal proceedings before the previous panel was in English, but when it came to judgement, it was in Bahasa Malaysia which Skinner could not understand.

Md Raus said, when a judge wrote a judgment, he or she would circulate it to other judges who sat in the panel, for them to read, whether they agreed or otherwise, before it was approved.

When asked by Md Raus how he knew that Skinner was not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, Karpal replied that the judge was from Sabah, and that judges from East Malaysia were not fluent in the languange and still used the English language in court proceedings in Sabah.

Md Raus said Skinner might not be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia but it did not mean that he did not understand the national languange.

Karpal also asked the panel to include Skinner in the proceedings, for him to answer over the matter.

Noorin replied that the allegations against Skinner were baseless, pure conjecture and without substance.

She said it was not a quorum failure as quorum failure was related to a composition of judges in a panel.

"If one of the panel is absent, that is quorum failure but not on the fluency. Justice Clement (Skinner) might be brought up in Sabah (but) this does not mean that he did not understand Bahasa Malaysia. Not being fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, does not mean he did not understand the languange," she said.

Karpal, 71, wants the Appellate Court to exercise its inherent powers and set aside the decision made by the panel on Jan 20, last year which dismissed a High Court decision on June 11, 2010 to acquit him.

He is accused of uttering seditious words against the Sultan of Perak at his legal firm in Jalan Pudu Lama, Kuala Lumpur between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6, 2009.

He is alleged to have said that the Sultan's removal of Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak mentri besar and Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir's appointment to that position, could be questioned in a court of law.

The charge, under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 carries a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years' jail or both, upon conviction. -- Bernama