A syariah lawyer representing former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told the Syariah Court of Appeal in Kuala Lumpur today that the chief prosecutor of the Federal Territory Islamic Department (Jawi) represents public interests, not government interests.

Rafie Mohd Shafie said the jurisdiction of a chief syariah prosecutor differs from that of the attorney-general.

“A chief syariah prosecutor cannot ‘pilih bulu’ (cannot randomly choose to charge someone, and not charge others), for he represents public interests and not the government’s,” Rafie said.