Anwar Ibrahim's defence team has applied to recall former investigating officer in the Sodomy II trial, Jude Blacious Pereira, to testify at the Court of Appeal.

Lawyer Karpal Singh, who leads Anwar’s legal team, had filed a notice of motion to that effect on Feb 4.

The application will be heard on Wednesday ahead of the hearing of the government’s appeal against Anwar’s acquittal.

It will touch on Jude’s credibility as a witness during the trial, said Karpal.

He referred to the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision last month, ruling against Pereira’s application for admission to the Malaysian Bar.

The decision took into account a finding on Pereira's “credibility as a witness” at an inquiry by the Human Rights Commission into the arrest and detention of five lawyers on May 7, 2009, Karpal explained.

Shafee's involvement

The inquiry was chaired by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (right) , then a commissioner, who had deemed Jude not to be a credible witness.

Shafee has since been appointed to lead the government’s appeal against the Sodomy II verdict.

He will therefore have to rely on Jude’s evidence during the trial which had led to Anwar’s defence being called, added Karpal.

Anwar, in his affidavit in support of the application, said that when Pereira gave evidence in the sodomy trial, the rejection of the petition for his admission to the Bar had not come about.

"The rejection of Pereira's petition is pertinent and would adversely and negatively impact his credibility.

"Had this evidence been available before Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, (the judge) would have in all probability ruled that his evidence was not reliable, unworthy of belief, and ought to have been rejected by the court to make a prima facie case against me," Anwar said.

"It is credible evidence which was not available at the trial and capable of belief and this court after considering this evidence which is pertinent, decisive, and conclusive and other evidence adduced by the prosecution at the close of its case whether a prima facie case should have been called then.”

PKR vice-president N Surendran today renewed the call for Shafee to withdraw from leading the prosecution team, also saying he will have to rely mainly on Jude’s evidence to make his case.

Multiple breaches

Meanwhile, defence counsel R Sivarasa said in a statement later today that Anwar has filed a complaint with the Bar Council disciplinary board against Shafee for allegedly breaching the Legal Profession Act 1976.
 
Sivarasa said that Shafee had committed multiple breaches to the act by accepting the fiat by the Attorney General to act as a Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Sodomy 2 appeal against Anwar.
 
"Shafee's misconduct breaches the professional ethics regulations where a lawyer cannot be in a conflict of interest and should not have self-interest in a case," Sivarasa said.
 
Previously, the defence had submitted that Shafee was present when alleged sodomy victim Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan met then deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak at the latter's official residence.
 
The defence was also offered Shafee as a witness and his statement was recorded by the police under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
 
"No matter what happens tomorrow in the Court of Appeal to dismiss Shafee from continuing to act as the DPP in the Sodomy 2 appeal, my client (Anwar) will continue with this complaint for public interest," Sivarasa, who is also the Subang MP.