KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): The Federal court has allowed a request from lawyers to postpone the hearing the Malaysian Bar’s motion to strike out King’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw’s appeal to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor here and represent former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the review application for his SRC International Sdn Bhd conviction and sentence.
The hearing was supposed to commence on Wednesday, March 15.
In a letter sighted by The Edge, apex court deputy registrar Mahyun Yusof had informed parties of the postponement after Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah sought the postponement.
Mahyun then set March 22 for parties to attend an e-review before deputy registrar Suhaila Haron, when a new hearing date will most likely be fixed.
Laidlaw filed the appeal to the Federal Court after the High Court dismissed his application to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor on July 21 last year to represent Najib in his final SRC appeal at the apex court.
Subsequently, Najib was represented by senior counsel Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and other counsels from Messrs Zaid Ibrahim Suflan and TH Liew.
After the Federal Court upheld Najib’s conviction and sentence, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who was rehired to represent Najib on Oct 12, said Laidlaw would represent the former prime minister in the rehearing of his appeal, if his review application is allowed by the Federal Court.
Najib is serving a 12-year jail sentence in the Kajang Prison, after he lost his appeal in the Federal Court to set aside his conviction on charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving SRC funds totalling RM42 million.
A decision for his review application for a re-hearing of his appeal has been fixed for March 31.