GEORGE TOWN – Lawyers and members of the public are urged to respect the judicial system and not politicise it, said a former Malaysian Bar president.
Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor said the system is designed to ensure that justice is served, even if there are some challenges.
His comments come amid recent criticism from certain quarters that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not accorded due process in his SRC International corruption case.
“It should be noted that Najib went through a lengthy trial process, and, on the standard of beyond reasonable doubt, the high court found him guilty of all charges. The findings were affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
“On the issue of the Federal Court dismissing the bid for adjournment by Najib’s new team of lawyers, the court has discretionary powers to grant or deny any adjournment requests.
“Whether on appointment of a new defence team or any other reasons that may be put forward for the request, the discretion to grant the adjournment is at the discretion of the court based on the background of each case.”
Fareed added that records showed there was a petition of appeal by Najib and written submissions filed by his earlier legal team, and the Federal Court would have considered this in denying the request for adjournment.
Yesterday, eight former Bar presidents said they stand with the judiciary in these “unprecedented times” as the institution faces an onslaught of attacks by individuals attempting to strike fear in judges and undermine their independence.
In a joint statement by Zainur Zakaria, Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Datuk Lim Chee Wee, Steven Thiru, and George Varughese, they said all Federal Court appeals were scheduled in advance on dates that accommodate all parties and directions are then issued by the court for the filing of submissions prior to the date of hearing.
“The parties, therefore, know when the relevant documents must be filed, and it is incumbent on the lawyers to ensure compliance with all directions.
“All lawyers are familiar with these standard procedures. They are not unusual and are applicable to all litigants,” they said, ostensibly taking a jab at Najib’s lawyers.
They said it was abundantly clear that the Federal Court had given Najib’s counsel every opportunity to make submissions on the merits, but he repeatedly refused to do so.
As such, they said, Najib as the appellant had thus made a deliberate and considered choice through his counsel not to make submissions on the merits.
“Hence, the narrative that there was no due process accorded to the appellant is patently false,” they said. – The Vibes, August 31, 2022
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