Prosecutor files leave to intervene, wants UK-based Laidlaw’s appeal struck out

PUTRAJAYA: The public prosecutor has filed an application to seek leave to intervene in an appeal by UKbased King’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw who wants to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor to represent Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) criminal case.

In the notice of motion filed Thursday, the public prosecutor is also seeking to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal on grounds that the appeal is academic and is an abuse of process and unsustainable. The application was supported by an affidavit filed by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul.

The public prosecutor, who was not named as a respondent in the King’s Counsel’s appeal, wants to be included as the fourth respondent in Laidlaw’s appeal.

The public prosecutor said it was a party in the proceedings at the High Court but was unilaterally dropped as a party in the appeal. The other respondents in the proceedings were the Attorney-General, the Malaysian Bar and the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee.

The public prosecutor also said that Laidlaw’s appeal is incompetent as the notice of appeal was served out of time.

Laidlaw filed an appeal to the Federal Court after the High Court rejected his application to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor on July 21, this year.

Laidlaw had, in May this year, filed a notice of originating motion through Messrs Shafee & Co at the High Court for his admission as a lawyer in Malaysia to represent Najib in his appeal in the Federal Court.

On Oct 12, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Najib, said Laidlaw would represent the former prime minister in the re-hearing of his appeal if his review application was allowed by the Federal Court.

Najib is serving a 12-year jail sentence in Kajang prison after he lost his appeal in the Federal Court to set aside his conviction on seven charges involving criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position, involving SRC funds, totalling RM42 million.

In 2020, the High Court sentenced him to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million. His appeal against his conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal last year.

Najib’s review application has been fixed for hearing in the Federal Court for three days beginning Jan 19, next year.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Bar has also filed an application to strike out Laidlaw’s appeal, citing that the appeal is academic as the Federal Court had already decided on Najib’s appeal on Aug 23 this year.

In this notice of motion filed yesterday, the Bar Council contended that the appeal is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court’s process.