PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has fixed April 6 for another case management of UK-based King’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw’s appeal to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor to represent Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) criminal case.
This was confirmed by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul and lawyer for the Malaysian Bar, Annemarie Pravina Vendargon, when contacted by Bernama following case management of the appeal today.
Annemarie said the date for the case management was fixed pending the decision of Najib’s review which is due to be delivered on March 31.
She said the hearing date will be fixed during the next case management.
Today’s case management was also attended by lawyer Wan Muhammad Arfan Wan Othman, representing Laidlaw, and federal counsel Noor Atiqah Zainal Abidin, appearing on behalf of the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Also present was lawyer Lim Sze Han, representing KL Bar Committee.
The Federal Court was supposed to hear Laidlaw’s appeal, as well as the applications by the public prosecutor and three others to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal and the public prosecutor’s application to intervene in Laidlaw’s appeal last March 15
However, the hearing was postponed and a case management was fixed for today. Today’s case management was held before Federal Court deputy Registrar Suhaila Haron.
Laidlaw had filed an appeal to the Federal Court after the High Court rejected his application to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor on July 21 last year.
The public prosecutor, who was not named as a respondent in Laidlaw’s appeal, subsequently filed an intervener application to be included as the fourth respondent in his (Laidlaw’s) appeal on grounds that it was a party in the proceedings at the High Court, but was unilaterally dropped in the appeal.
In a notice of motion, which was filed on Nov 18, last year, the public prosecutor also sought to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal on grounds that the appeal is academic and is an abuse of process and unsustainable.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Malaysian Bar and Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee, named as respondents in Laidlaw’s appeal, have also filed their respective applications to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal.
Najib, 69, is serving a 12- year jail sentence after the Federal Court upheld his conviction, jail sentence and RM210 million fine for misappropriation of RM42 million SRC International funds on Aug 23, this year.
The Federal Court has set March 31 for decision of the former prime minister’s review application. – Bernama
