Yoursay: A legal submission on a dog

YOURSAY | ‘The excuse being given for the delay is shocking and should not be entertained by the court.’

Shafee's 'pet dog' stalls Najib's hearing, AG rues delay

Ipoh PP: Knowing this lawyer and what he has done in the past, it boggles my mind how the judges could entertain his request for a postponement.

We, the laypersons, know that a lawyer is supposed to use his mouth to speak, not his hands. Additionally, he has many assistants who are lawyers. Why can't they take over?

Did the judges ask for an X-ray to verify his request? I am sure the judges would have known of this lawyer's antics in the past. So why did the judges grant a postponement?

Again, knowing that this case is of public and national interest, this should have never been allowed. I’m still shaking my head in disbelief at the judiciary.

Kangkung: Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is the crème de la crème when it comes to delaying court hearings.

He was the one who allegedly coerced businessman Deepak Jaikishan to lie in court apparently on orders from then PM Najib Abdul Razak where Shafee had on several occasions demanded that Deepak not show up in court on the pretext of being medically unfit.

He allegedly obtained medical leave from a government hospital for Deepak and on one occasion allegedly arranged for him to be warded at a private hospital.

I hope the judge will be able to see through all his shenanigans.

Anonymous_3b6c1f0c: While Najib has the right to a lawyer to represent him, he does not have the right to a specific counsel and, if for any reason counsel is not available, another lawyer on the team should make submissions and arguments to the Court of Appeal.

Since these appeals were made by Najib, surely the accused has the right to have the appeals heard soonest as his freedom is at stake.

The excuses being given for the delay is shocking and should not be entertained by the court. His grounds for appeal are not novel nor difficult to warrant that only one specific lawyer has the ability to argue his case.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Something is seriously wrong with our judicial system. It looks like there are two types of system - one for the ordinary individual, another for the well-connected VIPs.

An ordinary individual would have been hauled up to court and charged before he can even say go. A VIP could have his case postponed under the flimsiest excuses he can find. What is going on?

Vgeorgemy: At last, the former premier's lawyer has no backing of the law to allegedly delay the trial but his pet dog. What an irony, isn’t it?

Quigonbond: He might as well have said the dog ate his case notes.

Who delayed the trial? Not my dog

RKR: Shafee, being a lawyer, and a 'hot shot' one at that, you are missing the trees for the forest.

We are just asking why your puppy could have caused the postponement of an important trial. The AG (attorney-general), for whatever reasons, may have caused the delay previously, but that is under the water now.

Please do not use your cat or your pet iguana next time. It looks mischievous.

HangTuahPJ: A quarter way through, I decided to stop reading his storytelling. The slight bump on his hand is so painful that it required two days of MC (medical certificate)?

Who is that doctor? Please name him as I could use his services in the future as my doctor does not give me an MC for a similar bump on my leg.

And while you need your legs to walk, you don’t need your left hand to talk. You must have been compelled to create this story after reading the reaction of the Malaysiakini commentators yesterday.

Newday: I cannot fathom why Shafee chose to discuss this in the way he did – FBI-trained dog handler and an Indonesian helper.

Are we supposed to be impressed? As for your fiat discussion, you point out PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim’s case as an example. You were then the prosecutor and not defence lawyer, so why state this?

Your appeals were attempts at delaying the trial. To a certain extent, that is your job as defence lawyer. Just stick with that, Shafee - don't deflect and certainly don't let your 'scary' dog sit or jump on you again.

Frenz: Money laundering is defined under international law since Sept 11, 2001, as having assets far in excess of what can be accumulated legitimately over a lifetime. This is not about corruption but something far worse.

Najib's goose is cooked. Just one charge is enough to put him away for good. Assets can be frozen, seized and forfeited, by civil action, under anti-money-laundering laws.

That's what the US DOJ (Department of Justice) is doing. Jho Low has put his tail between the legs and meekly allowed DOJ to forfeit his ill-gotten assets linked to 1MDB.

Najib has his allegedly ill-gotten assets overseas, much of it under other people. So, the prosecution is going after him based on the money trail which can be linked to him. These are criminal charges.

Of course, he pleaded not guilty. If he pleaded guilty, he would be locked up immediately. Then, no more gloating over "Malu Apa BossKu".

RZee: Shafee and his client’s excuses will run out and the trial will start. He is just buying time and hoping something will happen to further delay the trial.

So, it has come down to this - a legal submission on a dog.

Quigonbond: Shafee, you should have stopped after you finish your dog story and said you have produced the relevant medical certificate to the court.

The rest is subject to interpretation and convenient placement or omission of facts. And you've just further scandalised the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

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