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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

WHAT'S NAJIB UP TO? Why doesn't AG conduct appeal, why delegate to Shafee?

WHAT'S NAJIB UP TO? Why doesn't AG conduct appeal, why delegate to Shafee?
Speculation is swirling over the possible reasons why Umno lawyer Shafee Abdullah was appointed to lead the government's appeal against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, whom the High Court had cleared of sodomy charges earlier this year.
Some Umno watchers believe it is because of Shafee's legal expertise and that Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Umno party had wanted to tap Shafee's experience so as to maximize the chances of success in their bid to jail Anwar.
Yet others believe it was a gesture from Najib to show the Umno right-wingers that he is doing his best, even going to the extent of hiring the party's top lawyer to convict Anwar.
Umno is due to hold its presidential polls in September and Najib faces a real risk of being ousted by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, who appears to have garnered the support of the party's hardliners.
Should Anwar win the appeal, the hawks in Umno and their powerful divisions would regard it as a black mark against Najib. It could seal his fate in the party.
Why can't Gani conduct the appeal himself
Be that as it may, the question remains - why doesn't the Attorney General Gani Patail conduct the appeal himself?
"There is no doubt it is within the AG's jurisdiction to appoint help from the private sector. But this is clearly an insult to the AG's chambers - don't tell me they are so short of talent," a lawyer told Malaysia Chronicle when asked for his comment on Shafee's shock appointment.
"Firstly, why can't the AG himself handle the case if he deems that there is no one else capable of leading prosecution. Gani Patail is the Public Prosecutor, so why doesn't he lead the appeaI. Secondly, if Gani takes on the appeal, there is no additional expenditure. But bringing in Shafee would incur additional charges and Shafee is not known to come cheap."
Ethics
In defending the Shafee move, Gani was reported as saying by the Malaysian Insider that there was "no good reason why we should not appoint Shafee".
But his simplistic response is unlikely to allay concerns of un-professionalism, and worse still, an all-out conspiracy to nail Anwar on trumped-out sodomy charges.
"The appointment is absolutely shocking, highly unusual and against ethical and legal principles governing the appointment and role of prosecuting counsel," MP for Padang Serai N Surendran had told reporters.
"Ethical rules state that the prosecuting counsel must regard themselves as ministers of justice, and not to struggle for a conviction and conduct the case moderately."
Undeniable ties to Najib, Umno
Meanwhile, Anwar's defense team plans to file an objection against Shafee's appointment on the grounds that he was a biased party due to his close involvement with Umno and its top leaders, including Najib himself.
"Last year it was revealed that Shafee had written a letter to court stating that he was on a special assignment overseas on behalf of PM Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor," said Surendran.
According to Anwar's defense team, the motion to recuse Shafee will be filed on August 1, which is also the date fixed for case management of the appeal hearing
"Basically one of our main contentions in the appeal proper is that this is a politically motivated case and we will also show the evidence to support the suggestion and if that is the case, Shafee's involvement would add a political flavor because he is involved in cases involving Umno," Ramkarpal Singh, one of the defense team, told reporters at the court lobby this morning," Ramkarpal Singh, one the defense lawyers, told reporters at the court lobby.
Zaid and Abu Talib - contrasting views
Meanwhile, two camps appear to be forming over whether Shafee should be appointed or not.
Zaid Ibrahim, the former law minister, rushed to criticize Anwar's decision to remove Shafee calling it "frivolous", "pathetic" and "bizarre".
However, Zaid may be biased in his views, having fallen out with Anwar after joining and later quitting the latter's PKR party in 2009.
It is also telling that former Attorney-General Abu Talib Othman has viewed Shafee's appointment as a dangerous precedent, saying it would reflect badly on the AG's chambers and setting the impression that it was incompetent.
Talib questioned why an outsider was selected when the chambers had experienced officers to conduct the appeal.
Malaysia Chronicle

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