KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 17): Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah claimed on Friday (Dec 17) that Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah is facing pressure from certain quarters to finish the 1MDB-Tanore trial, as it has faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to reporters at a special press conference via Zoom, Shafee claimed that Sequerah felt pressured to get the case going, referring to the judge’s decision to conduct the trial on Thursday despite Shafee and his client former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s “close contact” status on the MySejahtera app.
“I think the judge didn’t do it on purpose, [but] because he had pressure from some quarters. This is because the 1MDB trial has been delayed due to Covid. There were times that he (Sequerah) had had to postpone proceedings. There were two or three times he had had to cancel proceedings due to Covid. So there is pressure on him.
“Maybe this pressure is because the SRC International case (involving Najib) has also finished at the appeal stage. Maybe he feels the pressure to get this case going,” he said.
“I hope there is no pressure on any judge... if there is, it is something that can be detrimental,” he said.
Shafee went on to suggest that Sequerah might feel pressured because the case had gone on since 2018, something the judge himself had mentioned previously.
However, Shafee thinks it is unfair that there are many cases where people are in jail waiting for their cases to be heard, but “VIP” cases such as Najib’s are being hastened.
“We should give priority to those cases where the accused are in jail, but we speed up the VIP cases. As for Najib, he is on bail. So, I think this is unfair. I won’t say what is causing this because I don’t want to make accusations. I hope all judges carry out their duties diligently without favour,” he said.
Shafee also said that in his opinion, a judge should not ignore the instructions and restrictions of the Ministry of Health.
“This is something that involves the nation, because if the Covid-19 spreads we will be affected. I hope in the future all judges will take into consideration if any lawyers or accused persons have had primary exposure to a Covid positive patient... I feel they can investigate it and ask them about their exposure and ascertain the facts. [The court] must give way,” he said.
Shafee takes aim at MySejahtera glitches
Shafee also claimed that there were serious issues with the MySejahtera application, which miscalculated his quarantine period.
According to the lawyer, both he and his son had had primary contact with a Covid-19 positive patient on Dec 4, and that his son had contracted the virus.
Hence, he said he went into self-imposed quarantine from Dec 6 for 10 days, which should end on Dec 16. However, the MySejahtera application miscalculated the dates and issued him a "Home Surveillance Order" that will only end on Monday (Dec 20).
“I’ve finished my quarantine, but MySejahtera says I’ve got to quarantine more days. It is the fault of the system and it is the system that is unreliable,” he said.