Consul General of Mongolia to Malaysia Syed Abdul Rahman Alhabshi today said that the last-minute adjournment of the Altantuya murder trial to June 18 was unfair to her family.

"They are sponsored to be here for only eight days, and the postponement makes it unclear if they will be back to take the witness stand," he told reporters in Shah Alam High Court today.

Altantuya's father and her two cousins are in Malaysia as prosecution witnesses.

Lawyer Karpal Singh, who holds a watching brief for Altantuya's family, also felt that it was inappropriate for the trial to be postponed.

"No reasons have been given why there has been a change of prosecutor ... That's why I asked for a reason but no reasons were given," he said.

Asked if the decision to replace the prosecutors at this stage was irregular, Karpal said: "Yes, this is last-minute change, it has not happened before because so much time was given.

"As I said earlier in court, perhaps in this two weeks adjournment period, if this team (new prosecution team) can work with the other team, the attorney-general should direct them to work together so the trial can go on."

The prosecution will now be headed by DPP Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, who will be assisted by Manoj Kurup. The case was previously handled by head of the Classified Cases Unit of the AG's Chambers Sallehuddin Saidin and deputy public prosecutor Noreen Badaruddin.

Lawyer withdraws

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing chief inspector Azilah Hadri, 36, who is accused in the murder of the Mongolian model, has discharged himself from the case today.

Zulkifli Noordin dropped a bombshell, citing "serious interference by third parties" in his preparation of the trial for the reason of his withdrawal.

"Interference by third parties in my defence preparation and trial has put me in the position not being able to carry out my duty to defend my client to the best of my ability," Zulkifli told reporters outside the courtroom in Shah Alam High Court today.

He added that there were also serious attempts by third parties to interfere with the defence that he proposed to establish on behalf of his client (Azilah) for the purpose of "protecting and for the benefit of certain parties".

"I strongly believe therefore that to continue to act further for my client in the conduct of this case would compromise my principles with my main task to uphold the truth and justice without fear or favour," he said.

Application to read statement

Earlier, Zulkifli sought judge Mohd Zaki Md Yasin's permission to read out his statement in the courtroom.

"Since this is a high-profile case, numerous speculations have been made about me in the media," he told Mohd Zaki.

"Thus, I would like to discharge myself from the case, and I want the permission to read out my statement," he said, adding that there were also certain parties trying to manipulate his role in the trial.

To this, Mohd Zaki responded by asking: "Do we need to do this now? Are you implying that the media reports are true?"

And he further dismissed Zulkifli's appeal to read out his statement in the courtroom.

Azilah will now be represented by lawyers Hazman Ahmad and J Kuldeep Kumar.

When contacted at his office later in the day, Zulkifli said that he was 'sticking to his statement' and refused to disclose any names regarding his allegations of 'third parties interference' in his trial preparation.

Anwar, Bar Council reaction

Meanwhile, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said the postponement was "unprofessional and irresponsible".

"Doubt has also been cast when one of the defence lawyers, Zulkifli Noordin has to withdraw from the case. His statement proved that there was interference by third party that compromised his ability to prepare for the trial," he said in a brief statement.

The Bar Council vice-chairperson K Ragunath seemed puzzled with the long duration given for the postponement.

"Normally the court will allow only two or three day of postponement, but in this case a duration of two weeks has been given.

Ragunath also stated that although it was common for lawyers to be changed during the trial, it is not usual for the prosecution team to be changed.

However, he said it was permissible upon the court's discretion.

Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibuu, 28, is believed to have been shot dead and her body blown up using explosives last October.

Azilah, together with corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 31, are charged with the murder. Political analyst, Abdul Razak Baginda, 47, a close associate of deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is charged with abetting to commit the crime.

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