PUTRAJAYA, March 6 — The Court of Appeal today fixed March 13 to hear an appeal brought by Badrul Hisham Shaharin against the High Court’s decision to set aside the Sessions Court order directing the prosecution to disclose a witness statement to him.

Badrul Hisham, better known as Chegubard, is seeking to obtain the statement of Bloomberg journalist S. Ram Anand for use in his defence in a sedition case related to the casino project in Forest City in Johor.

In January, the Johor Bahru High Court set aside the Session Court’s order requiring the prosecution to disclose the witness statement recorded under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

During proceedings today, the Court of Appeal three-judge panel led by Datuk Azman Abdullah, sitting together with Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, instructed Badrul Hisham to file written submissions two days before the hearing.

Earlier, lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali informed the court that he had only recently received the appeal record, and he undertook to file the petition of appeal as soon as possible.

Muhammad Rafique said his client’s sedition case at the Johor Bahru Sessions Court, which had already entered the defence stage, will resume on April 6.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Siew Wee confirmed the matter, saying that the prosecution is ready to proceed with the appeal on March 13.

High Court judge Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad, who earlier set aside the Sessions Court order, ruled that such statements were protected by legal privilege and cannot be disclosed.

He made the ruling after allowing the prosecution’s application for revision of the Sessions Court order.

In 2024, Badrul Hisham, a political activist, was charged at the Johor Bahru Sessions Court with making seditious remarks on his Facebook account under the name ‘Che GuBard’.

He was alleged to have made the seditious publication at Mutiara Villa, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, at 6.30pm, on April 26, 2024.

The charge was brought under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, which provides for a maximum fine of RM5,000 or imprisonment for up to three years or both if found guilty. — Bernama