Lawyer Syazlin Mansor's role is redundant because the attorney-general acts for the Housing and Local Government Ministry as well as the Fire and Rescue Department by virtue of representing the government, according to Zuraida Kamaruddin.
“We have come to realise that the AG is representing the government - that would include both the ministry and Bomba (Fire Department).
“Therefore, Syazlin's role in representing Bomba has become redundant. So she has to withdraw,” she added in a text message to Malaysiakini this evening.
The housing and local government minister was asked to respond to a news report that Syazlin withdrew from the inquest to determine firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim's cause of death due to a letter she received.
However, Zuraida did not comment on whether the letter existed.
Syazlin, who was representing the ministry and the Fire Department, announced her withdrawal from the proceedings at the Coroner's Court in Shah Alam this morning.
The lawyer later told Malaysiakini that she did so due to new developments, but declined to reveal details.
Syazlin also refused to comment on a Sinar Harian report, which linked her decision to pull out to the purported letter from a senior government official who oversees legal matters.
“I do not wish to respond. Please refer to YB (Zuraida),” she told Malaysiakini.
Quoting a source, the report said the letter ordered Syazlin and the ministry to withdraw from the matter.
Sinar Harian claimed there were those who felt threatened by Syazlin's credibility, who appeared to be stern and aggressive in wanting to unravel the truth behind the incident.
Earlier, Syazlin, who was also appointed to represent Adib's family, told the court that her withdrawal would also nullify Prof Dr Shahrom Abdul Wahid's appointment as an expert witness.
Shahrom had told the court that Adib sustained his injuries after he was pulled out of an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) vehicle and assaulted on Nov 27 during the Seafield temple riots.
His testimony contradicted that of two other experts, who told the court that Adib fell from the vehicle and that his injuries were due to being hit by the vehicle when it backed into him in an attempt to escape an advancing mob.
Adib, 24, succumbed to his injuries at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 17. - FMT
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