KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's lawyers are puzzled as to how the registrar of the court of appeal has fixed a date to hear the politician's appeal even before the application is filed.
In a statement, counsel Sankara Nair said they were informed that the appeallate court would hear the matter on March 19.
“What is uniquely strange in the above instance is the unprecedented manner in which the court of appeal has acted in its perceived alacrity and its super efficiency in fixing a hearing date even before we, as solicitors, have filed a Petition of Appeal (POA).
“Indeed the court has acted beyond its own rules - (Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994) - which sets out the procedure clearly,” he added.
The issue concerns Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah's decision to continue hearing Anwar's sodomy case despite the defendant filing an application to recuse him on grounds of prejudice.
Meanwhile, Sankara explained that the rules state that wherein upon the receipt of the appeal records, the petitioner (Anwar) has 10 days to file into court a POA and “only and only after the filing of the said POA will the court proceed to fix a hearing date of the appeal”.
The lawyer said he received the appeal records on March 1 from the high court and according to the rules, he has until March 11 to file the POA.
“In this case I have not filed my POA yet and to my sheer amazement, I was notified today by the court that it has already fixed a hearing date.
“The court has astonishingly departed from established norms in this appeal process involving Anwar. The unprecedented manner in which the court has acted is disturbing and is outrageous,” he added.
'Clear case of discrimination'
Sankara also pointed out that previously when Anwar made various appeals to the court of appeal and to the federal court by also simultaneously filing a certificate of urgency for an early hearing, there was no such 'super efficiency'.
“From the above actions of the, there seems to be a clear case of discrimination towards Anwar in the court's blatant disregard for the rules and this is wholly unacceptable,” he said.
Anwar is accused of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26, 2008 at a posh condominium in the exclusive Bukit Damansara suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
He has denied the charge, saying it’s a conspiracy similar to that in 1998.
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