Anwar fails in 3rd bid to disqualify Muhammad Shafee

With this ruling, the prosecution's appeal would go on this Thursday with Muhammad Shafee leading the prosecution team.

PUTRAJAYA: Anwar Ibrahim today failed for the third time to disqualify Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from leading the prosecution team in its appeal against the opposition leader’s acquittal on a
sodomy charge.

In dismissing Anwar’s application, Appeal Court Judge Balia Yusof Wahi, who led a three-man bench in hearing Anwar’s application to disqualify Muhammad Shafee,  ruled that it was frivolous and vexatious which resulted in the delay of the prosecution’s appeal.

“We are of the opinion that the appeal is going very slowly through the maze of the corridors of the court, at a snail’s pace,” he said, adding that as submitted by Muhammad Shafee, this (prosecution’s) appeal had made no progress since July last year.

Earlier, Muhammad Shafie had submitted that Anwar’s sodomy case had been postponed 69 times during the trial at that the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Justice Balia, who heard the application with Justices Aziah Ali and Mohd Zawawi Salleh, said that the panel agreed with Muhammad Shafee’s argument that since his name had not been struck out from the lawyers rolls, he remains a fit and proper person to be appointed as Deputy Public Prosecutor.

He said Muhammad Shafee’s appointment was within the public prosecutor’s prerogative and the court could not make findings based on decisions by the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board.

The court also rejected Anwar’s application to stay the hearing on the prosecution’s appeal,  which has been fixed for this Thursday and Friday, after the court found that there was no special circumstances to warrant it.

With this ruling, the prosecution’s appeal would go on this Thursday with Muhammad Shafee leading the prosecution team.

Anwar filed his third application on Feb 25 citing grounds that the senior lawyer was not a fit and proper person to accept the appointment as he was found guilty and was fined RM5,000 by the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board for violating the Legal Profession Act.

The court made the ruling after hearing submissions from Anwar’s counsel Karpal Singh, and Muhammad Shafee.

Anwar had first challenged the legality of Muhammad Shafee’s appointment under the Criminal Procedure Code but this was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Sept 17 last year.

The Federal Court also rejected his appeal on the Appeal’s Court decision on Nov 20 last year.

His second application to disqualify Muhammad Shafee, based on a statutory declaration by former Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department chief Mat Zain Ibrahim, was also dismissed by the Court of Appeal, on Dec 20 last year.

His further appeal to the Federal Court was also dismissed, on Feb 11 this year.

Muhammad Shafee was appointed by the Attorney-General by fiat (authorisation) under Section 376 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution to conduct the appeal at the Court of Appeal.

On Jan 9, 2012, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur acquitted and discharged Anwar on a charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful, 26, at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara between 3.10 pm and 4.30 pm on June 26, 2008.

Bernama