Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (centre) smiles as he leaves the Shariah Appeal Court in Kuala Lumpur today. The court fixed April 27 for decision on whether to accept lawyer Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar's withdrawal from representing Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and two others cited in Anwar’s suit. – The Malaysian Insider by Najjua Zulkefli, March 24, 2015.
The Kuala Lumpur Shariah Court of Appeal today fixed April 27 for decision on whether to accept lawyer Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar's withdrawal from representing Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and two others cited in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's qazaf (false accusation of sodomy) suit.
The lawyer had voluntarily recused himself from the case without informing Anwar's lawyers, and had only submitted a notice over the matter this morning.
Anwar is seeking to remove Zainul Rijal, who is also representing the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department and its chief prosecutor, from the case on the grounds that he was allegedly unprofessional, dishonest and had ill intentions.
Anwar also said in his August 18, 2011, application to recuse the lawyer that there was a conflict of interest as the latter was a member of the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Council, which oversees the appointment of shariah judges.
Anwar also said in his August 18, 2011, application to recuse the lawyer that there was a conflict of interest as the latter was a member of the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Council, which oversees the appointment of shariah judges.
Shariah Court of Appeal judge Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim, who is leading the three-member panel, today ordered both the applicant, Anwar, and the respondent, Zainul Rijal, to appear in court on April 27.
"Datuk Seri, will you be free (this April 27)?" Muhammad asked Anwar in jest, prompting laughter from the jailed opposition leader and others present in court today.
Anwar, who is now serving a five-year prison sentence, arrived in court at 10.15am under heavy escort by armed officers from the Prisons Department.
Although the de facto PKR chief appeared gaunt and thinner in his blue shirt, he flashed a smile to the waiting reporters and spoke to his granddaughter, Raja Safiyah Raja Ahmad Shahrir, before the court proceeding began.
Muhammad also ordered the armed personnel from the Prisons Department to leave the courtroom after Anwar's lawyer, Mohd Rafie Mohd Shafie, said the weapons they brought in were in violation of courtroom ethics.
Rafie said the five policemen already in the courtroom were sufficient to secure everyone's safety, and the prison guards' presence was unnecessary.
The other two judges presiding over the suit are Datuk Hussin Harun and Datuk Aidi Mokhtar.
Anwar was represented by Shafie, Kamar Ainiah Kamaruddin and Mohd Burok, while Zainul Rijal was represented by Abdul Halim Bahari, Abdul Razak Mohaidi, Faisaruddin Md Yusuf, and Roslizam Rahim.
Zainul Rijal is representing Jamil Khir, the minister in the prime minister's department; shariah chief prosecutor Shamsuddin Hussain; and former Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department director Datuk Che Mat Ali in Anwar's qazaf suit against the three over former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
- TMI
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