Lawyers should not be a subject of attack by authorities for representing their clients, senior lawyer Rosli Dahlan said in his judicial review bid against the Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain @ Abd Rasid and eight others, including the government.
Rosli, in addressing High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, said he was counsel for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and also for i-Serve Online Mall Sdn Bhd but had been subjected to actions by the authorities.
“When former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was acquitted (of criminal breach of trust), all actions (taken by the authorities) happened to my firm and myself. There are also false allegations against me of stealing RM7 billion 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) money or [of] compromising in the 1MDB deal.
The allegations led to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s raid on Rosli’s office last Oct 6. The MACC filed an application to retrieve 1MDB documents which the agency later withdrew.
“Now, the police are taking over in freezing my bank accounts and trust fund. In their investigation, it does not say [that] I am the prime suspect but the investigation [resulted] in the freezing order, and my arrest follows an AirAsia police report against i-Serve, where I was counsel in 2022,” he added.
Rosli noted that he has yet to be furnished with a copy of the AirAsia police report that allegedly implicated him.
He added that he is seeking justice, flagging past incidents involving then High Court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who was also investigated by the MACC.
Rosli further cited the decision in the Haris Fathillah and two others versus the MACC case, in which the Federal Court ruled that courts must be proactive in determining such abuse, as [with] the apex court.
“Any abuse of those powers such as using them for collateral purposes, not only constitutes possible offences such as abuse of power or obstruction of justice, but also constitutes actionable complaints through the courts’ statutory review powers,” Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said in her judgement in the Haris case.
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Malaysia: Lawyers should not be attacked for representing their clients, says Rosli Dahlan
