KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah failed today to recuse the chief of a tribunal, who will determine if he had breached professional rules and committed misconduct by prosecuting PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy.
Anwar’s lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah said the tribunal chairman Datuk Vijay Kumar Natarajan dismissed Shafee’s bid to remove him from the disciplinary panel, as the senior lawyer felt there was no basis to do so.
“They (Shafee’s lawyer) argued that there was some conflict of interest on his part. They had put a letter yesterday afternoon explaining their reasons,” he told reporters after the closed-door session before a three-man disciplinary tribunal here.
According to Sivarasa, Shafee’s lawyer Harvinderjit Singh had filed the recusal application, based on Vijay’s previous clash in court against Shafee’s law firm.
“Shafee’s lawyer alleged in writing that Datuk Vijay was involved in some civil suit; Shafee’s firm applied to disqualify him as a lawyer acting for some other party. So he said because of that, you (Vijay) may have prejudice against me,” he said.
The other two members of the tribunal or disciplinary committee that is hearing Shafee’s alleged misconduct are lawyer Izzat Hj Othman and layman Ng Kay Yip.
On February 10 last year, Anwar had lodged a complaint with the Advocates & Solicitors Disciplinary Board (ASDB) over private lawyer Shafee’s acceptance of the Attorney-General’s appointment to lead the prosecution of Anwar in the PKR de facto leader’s second sodomy case, claiming that there was “conflict of interest”.
Anwar claimed Shafee knew that there was a conflict of interest due to the latter’s alleged “history of involvement” in the initial Sodomy I case in the 1998-1999 period and with Anwar’s aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in Sodomy II, and therefore should have declined the appointment, Sivarasa said.
“By not doing that, he was in breach of etiquette rules which bind lawyers; etiquette rules govern our practice,” he said, explaining that Shafee’s capacity as a public prosecutor does not exempt him from the professional rules.
Although Anwar — currently serving a five-year jail term for sodomy — was brought out of prison today to testify as the first witness, the hearing did not go on and was rescheduled to July 22 and 23.
The hearing was adjourned as the tribunal allowed Shafee’s lawyer Sarah Abishegam’s application for additional time to file a document, Sivarasa said, noting that the rules provide for a 14-day notice of hearing that Shafee only received about a week ago.
Sivarasa confirmed that Anwar’s complaint is currently the sole disciplinary complaint against Shafee at the ASDB over the PKR leader’s Sodomy II case.
He said the Malaysian Bar is expected to know next Thursday whether the High Court will issue an injunction to block the professional legal association from discussing Shafee’s alleged misconduct as a lawyer after leading a successful prosecution against Anwar.
The Malaysian Bar’s newly-appointed president Steven Thiru had said in March that the Bar Council will consider lodging a disciplinary complaint with the ASDB against Shafee’s conduct, but added that this will typically be done if the lawyer is unable to provide a satisfactory explanation.
The ASDB, which is independent from the Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar, will consider the disciplinary committee’s findings before deciding on various actions - dismissal of complaint, reprimanding or fining the lawyer, suspension for a maximum five years or disqualification from being a lawyer.
The other lawyers representing Anwar today are Latheefa Koya, Shahid Adli Kamarudin and Raul Lee.
Anwar’s wife and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, his daughter and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and other daughters were present, but they did not have the opportunity to speak to him.
On February 10, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s conviction of Anwar for sodomising his former political aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, also retaining a five-year jail sentence. This resulted in Anwar losing his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, while Dr Wan Azizah has since replaced him as the parliamentary Opposition Leader.
