PUTRAJAYA, Dec 9 — The Federal Court has fixed March 15 next year to hear applications by the public prosecutor and three others to strike out UK-based King’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw’s appeal to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor to represent Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) criminal case.
The other parties are the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), the Malaysian Bar and Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee.
The court also will hear on the same day an application by the public prosecutor to intervene in Laidlaw’s appeal.
This was confirmed by the Malaysian Bar’s lawyer Annemarie Pravina Vendargon when contacted by Bernama, following a case management of the appeal before Federal Court deputy registrar Suhaila Haron today.
She said the striking out application and the public prosecutor’s intervener application would be heard together and the court proceedings would be conducted online via Zoom.
Annemarie also said parties were directed to file their written submissions by Feb 28 next year.
Annemarie as well as lawyer Wan Arfan Wan Othman representing Laidlaw, Federal Counsel Noor Atiqah Zainal Abidin appearing for the AGC and mentioning on behalf of the public prosecutor, and Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee lawyer Lim Sze Han attended the case management, which was conducted via e-Review.
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 this 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 as it said 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, the public prosecutor also sought to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal on grounds that the appeal is academic and an abuse of process and unsustainable.
Meanwhile, the AGC, Malaysian Bar and Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee, who were named as respondents in Laidlaw’s application, have also filed their respective applications to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal.
On Oct 12, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Najib, said Laidlaw would represent the former prime minister in the rehearing of Najib’s appeal if his review application was allowed by the Federal Court.
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 of SRC funds on Aug 23 this year.
Najib’s review application has been fixed for hearing in the Federal Court for three days beginning Jan 19 next year.
