PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim's lawyer said there is new information confirming the allegation that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak paid senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah a total of RM9.5 million.
“The said new information, which amounts to fresh evidence in court, raises a most serious allegation that Shafee may have had an interest in the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim in his Sodomy 2 appeals in the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
“No doubt, the law provides for the appointment of Shafee to represent the government in the said appeals as an advocate and solicitor, but such appointment must be free from bias or suspicion as the integrity of the prosecution in the said appeals cannot, at any costs, be seen to have been compromised,” Ramkarpal Singh said in a statement this afternoon.
He also recalled how Shafee had previously described the allegation as “nonsense”.
“The said fresh evidence directly contradicts Shafee's stand that the said allegation is nonsense and strikes at the very core of the prosecution of the said appeals as, if the prosecutor had an interest in their outcomes having been remunerated by a potential witness (Najib), then surely the said prosecutions cannot be said to be free from bias and suspicion.
“It is elementary that any prosecution must not only be fair but must also be seen to be so and it is for this reason alone that the said fresh evidence must be thoroughly investigated as the outcome of such investigation may well affect the validity of the outcomes of the said appeals,” he added.
Ramkarpal urged Shafee (photo) to break his silence over the latest development.
“He must clear the air and categorically deny the same as his failure to do so will only attract an irresistible inference that his position as a prosecutor in the said appeals was indeed compromised and I urge him to take this opportunity to do so forthwith,” he added.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) had submitted "new information" to the Court of Appeal that showed Najib paid RM9.5 million to Shafee between 2013 and 2014.
The new evidence was submitted by special task officer to the attorney-general in an affidavit which included bank transaction details of Najib's and Shafee's bank accounts.
It also included a copy of two cheques from Najib dated Sept 11, 2013, and Feb 14, 2014, to Shafee for RM4.3 million and RM5.2 million respectively.
In 2010, Anwar was charged and tried with sodomy for the second time, this time involving his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur cleared Anwar of the charge but the prosecution appealed, this time with Shafee being put in charge as special prosecutor.
The Court of Appeal then overturned Anwar's acquittal in 2014 and this decision was reaffirmed by the Federal Court in February 2015. - Mkini
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