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PUTRAJAYA: The attorney general (AG) has withdrawn his appeal to overturn a provisional suspension obtained by a higher judge who was asked to appear before the Judges Ethics Committee in connection with an affidavit and sentence.
The GA has also submitted a new request to cancel the suspension, along with an urgency certificate.
Lead federal attorney Mohd Sabri Othman told a three-member appeals court that, however, a suspension notice had not been filed on the court record.
He said the copy was only given to Joy Wilson Appukuttan, one of the lawyers representing the Court of Appeal Judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer. The notification could not be provided because Hamid’s legal team did not consent due to the “facts and circumstances of this case.”
The bank’s president, Mohamad Zabidin Diah, later dismissed the AG’s appeal without a cost order.
Another senior federal attorney, M Kogilambigai, told the court, also composed of Abu Bakar Jais and Darryl Goon Siew Chye, that the attorney general has filed a new appeal to overturn the provisional suspension.
“We also presented a certificate of urgency last week so that the matter is heard soon,” he said.
The attorney general at the judicial review permission stage can be heard in public interest cases, although he is not a named party to an action.
Attorney Bastian Pius Vendargon, also representing Hamid, informed the court that today the administration of a case had been arranged and the attorney general wanted the matter heard anytime between Christmas and New Years.
“We celebrate Christmas even though the matter is of public importance. That is the reason why the new request was accompanied by the urgency certificate ”, he said.
Zabidin said the court record will obviously consult the parties before setting a date to hear the appeal.
“A panel will only be assembled once the registry sets the date,” he added.
Abu Bakar asked Kogilambigai: “Do you insist that the appeal should be heard this year?” She answered negatively.
The appeal has now been set for January 14 after a case management with Senior Deputy Registrar N Kanageswari.
On November 12, Superior Court Judge Mariana Yahya allowed the provisional suspension of the proceedings before the committee until the result of the request for permission for judicial review.
The Judges’ Ethics Committee was scheduled for November 25.
Mariana, who heard the permit request on December 10, granted another provisional suspension pending her ruling on January 21.
Hamid seeks to overturn the committee’s decision to carry out its investigation through closed-door proceedings and also wanted a statement that the charges against him were null and void.
At an international conference in Kuala Lumpur two years ago, Hamid had alleged that there had been judicial interference in several high-profile cases.
It led to a lawsuit against the Chief Justice early last year by lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, accusing the superior judge of failing to defend and preserve the integrity of the judiciary.
The committee then issued Hamid with a notice of cause on the affidavit and a ruling in a drug case.
Hamid, among other things, had said in the ruling that the judiciary was expected to act as a check and balance in the executive and the legislative, as provided in the Federal Constitution.
On September 8, Hamid responded to the notice of cause of the show, which according to sources was quite explosive, where the judge stood firm on the entire content of the affidavit and also on a 101-page ruling that he delivered in early June. .
