Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar has appealed the Ipoh High Court's judgment that private lawyers have no locus standi to represent him. The appeal was filed by lawyers from Mah-Kamariyah and Philip Koh at the Ipoh High Court and Putrajaya Court of Appeal simultaneously this morning at about 11.30 am.
In two separate judgments this week, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim had ruled in favour of the plaintiffs’ lawyers who objected to the use of private lawyers by Sivakumar on the grounds that he is a member of the government and must be represented by the state legal adviser.
If the appeal is successful, not only can Sivakumar be represented by lawyers of his choice but even the court order restraining him from convening unlawful meetings purporting to be meetings of the state assembly can be set aside.
Chan Kok Keong, who is part of Sivakumar's legal team in Ipoh, says they are hoping to get an early date for the appeal hearing, hopefully by next week.
"It is a very significant appeal," he said.
A hearing has been set for Wednesday, where three former Pakatan Rakyat state representatives, Jamaluddin Radzi, Mohd Osman Jailu and Hee Yit Foong, are seeking a declaration that they are still representatives of their constituencies despite the speaker declaring their seats vacant.
According to Chan, appeals are retrospective so if the appeal is heard after Wednesday and if it is successful, any judgment from the hearing on Wednesday can be overturned.
State Legal Adviser Datuk Ahmad Kamal Shahid is also representing Barisan Nasional Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir in a lawsuit brought against him in Kuala Lumpur by ousted MB Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, and Sivakumar's lawyers say that this is a clear case of conflict of interest.
Moreover, they contend that as Ahmad has been unable to establish communications with the speaker, he should disqualify himself from representing his client.
Datuk Hafarizam Harun (photo), who is leading the lawyers representing the three independent state representatives who switched to support Barisan Nasional, says that as a member of the government, Sivakumar has no choice but to use the state legal adviser.
He also denies any conflict of interest, and says that both Zambry and the speaker are part of the Perak state government, which the legal adviser is defending.
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