KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): 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 matters related to his SRC International Sdn Bhd conviction and sentence, has now been fixed for further case management on April 6.
This is pending the outcome of Najib's review process in the apex court, where the panel with a new set of judges is slated to deliver its decision on March 31.
The date was fixed following case management before deputy registrar Suhaila Haron on Wednesday (March 22).
Annemarie Vendargon, who appeared for the Malaysian Bar on Wednesday, confirmed the matter with The Edge when contacted.
Laidlaw was represented by Wan Muhammad Arfan Wan Othman. Federal counsel Noor Atiqah Zainal Abidin appeared for the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC), while the Kuala Lumpur Bar was represented by Lim Sze Han in the case management on Wednesday.
Laidlaw's appeal, along with other applications, was set for hearing on March 15, but was postponed, and a new hearing date is yet to be determined.
The other applications were the public prosecutor's bid to intervene in Laidlaw's application, and to strike out Laidlaw's appeal.
It is understood that the AGC, the Malaysian Bar and the Kuala Lumpur Bar have also applied to strike out the appeal on the basis that it is now academic.
Laidlaw — through Shafee & Co — is appealing against the High Court's decision dismissing his application to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Malaysia to ultimately represent Najib in his SRC appeal.
High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid in his ruling last July said that there were no complex matters in Najib's appeal that required the participation of the King's Counsel. The judge also noted that local advocates and solicitors are "well capable" of handling such cases.
The prosecution in the SRC case, the Bar Council and the Kuala Lumpur Bar had all objected to the application.
In his final appeal last August, Najib was represented by a different set of lawyers, namely senior counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and other counsels from Messrs Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew and Partners.
Following the appeal, the apex court upheld Najib’s conviction and sentence, and he began serving his 12-year prison sentence on Aug 23. Subsequently, a review of the decision was filed.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who was later rehired to represent Najib, said Laidlaw would represent the former PM in the rehearing of his appeal in the SRC case.
Shafee said that he would be handling Najib's review process, and Laidlaw would come in if Najib’s full appeal is to be heard before a new Federal Court panel.
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