Shafee Abdullah's appeal over affidavit dismissed

 

Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s opportunity to strike down an affidavit containing allegation the lawyer received RM9.5 million will now be before the Court of Appeal on March 5.

This followed the Federal Court today dismissing his application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision to disallow him from removing the affidavit.

The affidavit, filed by former attorney-general's special task officer Siti Rahayu Mohd Mumazani, contained the allegation that RM9.5 million was paid to Shafee from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s bank accounts between 2013 and 2014.

The affidavit was filed in relation to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s ongoing lawsuit against the government over the former allegedly not getting a fair trial in his second sodomy case.

The three-person Federal Court bench today unanimously dismissed Shafee's appeal leave application, after hearing submissions from parties during proceedings conducted via Zoom this morning.

The decision was delivered by the bench chairperson, Court of Appeal President Rohana Yusuf. Other members of the bench are Federal Court judges P Nallini and Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal.

“We strike out this (leave) application as the matter (issued by Shafee regarding the affidavit’s admissibility) can be raised before the (Court of Appeal) panel in the hearing proper in March.

“No order to cost,” she said.

Shafee was represented by counsel Harvinderjit Singh while Anwar was represented by Gopal Sri Ram and J Leela. The government was represented by senior federal counsel Suzana Atan.

Earlier during today's brief proceedings, Sri Ram and Suzana submitted that the leave application should be dismissed because the issue of the affidavit's admissibility can still be raised during the Court of Appeal hearing in March.

Anwar’s appeal in his Sodomy 2 suit against the government will be heard by the Court of Appeal on March 5.

Najib faces four counts of abusing his position as then prime minister to obtain gratification totalling RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same funds.

On Nov 29, 2018, the Court of Appeal dismissed Shafee's bid to expunge Siti Rahayu's affidavit and to cross-examine her.

The court, however, allowed Shafee to intervene in Anwar's appeal in his civil action against the government over his sodomy case.

Through the originating summons filed on June 9, 2017, against the government, Anwar seeks a declaration that his conviction by the Court of Appeal on March 7, 2014, contravened the Federal Constitution and thus was null and void.

He also wanted to nullify the Federal Court’s decision which upheld his conviction.

In his affidavit, Anwar claimed Shafee received RM9.5 million from Najib to lead the prosecution team in the appeal over his sodomy conviction.

Anwar’s guilty verdict and five years’ jail term for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was upheld by the Federal Court.

Anwar, however, was given a full pardon by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on May 16, 2018.

His originating summons was struck out by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Nov 8, 2017, on grounds that the case did not have any cause of action and amounted to an abuse of court process.

Anwar is appealing to reinstate his suit. - Mkini