PKR has urged Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to withdraw as prosecutor in the government’s appeal against Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal in Sodomy II.

In making the call, PKR argued that Shafee himself had had found the investigating officer in the Sodomy II case, DSP Jude Blacious Pereira, to be an unreliable witness.

PKR vice-president N Surendran said Shafee had chaired the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) inquiry panel on the arrest of the five lawyers on May 7, 2009, in which Pereira was one of the witnesses.

In its official report, Shafee was quoted as finding Pereira’s evidence to be totally unsatisfactory.

“DSP Jude Pereira ( left ) either consciously was not telling the truth or suffered from a serious bout of loss of memory,” Shafee, who shaired the three-member Suhakam inquiry panel, wrote in his finding.

Last month, Jude failed in his bid to be called to the Malaysian Bar, after the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed the Bar Council’s objection to his admission after.

The court ruled the former police officer as “not a fit and proper person to be admitted as a lawyer to practise in the High Court of Malaya” after accepting the Bar's argument that he was "not a credible witness" in a case on the arrest of five lawyers in Kuala Lumpur who were assisting those arrested during a candlelight vigil.

Now, Surendran said, Pereira as the investigating officer in the Sodomy II case would be a key prosecution witness in the Sodomy II appeal.

"Shafee has to reply on person he condemned'

“Pereira’s conduct was also the main reason why the High Court acquitted Anwar. The KL High Court had found that Pereira had tampered with the crucial samples by cutting open the sample bag without good reason.

“Now, as Anwar’s prosecutor, Shafee wil have to rely on the testimony of the very same witness who he himself had condemned as unreliable in the Suhakam Inquiry in 2009,” said Surendran, who is also the Padang Serai MP.  

The PKR vice-president added that Shafee told reporters that the main issue in the prosecution’s appeal “is the issue of the exhibits being possibly tampered with”.

In other words, Surendran said, the main issue will again be the reliability of Pereira who cut open the sample bag containing the exhibits.

“Amazingly, Shafee told reporters that there is no evidence of that and he would like ‘to put the record straight’. This is despite he himself having condemned Pereira for unreliability!

“In view of his findingss against Pereira in the Suhakam inquiry, the only ethical, lawful and appropriate course of action for Shafee would be to withdraw from acting as prosecutor. More so, where Anwar’s lawyers have now filed an application to recall Pereira to take further evidence,” said Surendran.

Karpal files application to recall Pereira

It is understood that Anwar's lawyer Karpal Singh has filed an application in the Court of Appeal to recall Pereira following this latest development.

Surendran said if Shafee does not withdraw, the senior lawyer would be arguing that Pereira’s evidence was reliable and must be accepted despite he himself having condemned the former police officer.

“This would make a mockery of the administration of justice in our country and of the public prosecutor’s office; it will further undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system, and jeopardise Anwar’s right to a fair hearing.

“If Shafee does not withdraw before the hearing date, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail must remove him,” Surendran said.

Anwar’s appeal to remove Shafee from leading the prosecution, for the second time, will be heard by the Federal Court tomorrow. The Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear the prosecution’s appeal on Wednesday and Thursday.