The Court of Appeal has set a new date, Jan 20, to hear the appeal of the former lawyer of the Johor sultan, Kamal Hisham Jaafar, on a request he made to visit his ailing father.

Kamal Hisham’s lawyer, Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, explained that the delay stemmed from technical issues for the preparation of documents that his client needed to file with the court, which could not be completed within the stipulated time.

He said that Kamal Hisham was denied access to legal counsel while in detention as he was classified under a special category of prisoners under media scrutiny, which limits his access to visitors.

"Because of that status, he has limited access to his lawyers, which led to several documents and statements that needed to be filed with the Court of Appeal being delayed," Khairul Azam told Malaysiakini at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya today.

Kamal Hisham (photo) is facing several criminal breach of trust allegations and charges under the Companies Act 1965, in the Sessions Court in Johor Bahru, which has fixed his trial to be held from Dec 19 to 21.

He is now trying to shift the trial to Kuala Lumpur, where he believes he will receive a fair hearing.

Kamal Hisham fears for his safety

Kamal Hisham, who was previously legal counsel to the Sultan of Johor, claimed that he could no longer live in the state and that he fears for his safety.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur had previously set Dec 29 to hear his appeal.

Kamal Hisham, represented by lawyer Nur Hannan Ishak during the mention of his case before a three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Mokhtarudin Baki today, appealed for the extension.

"I appeal to Your Honour to provide sufficient time for me to give instructions to my lawyer," Kamal Hisham said in court, clad in a light green T-shirt and black slacks.

Justice Mokhtarudin then agreed to push forward the date for the appeal to be heard on Jan 20.

Khairul Azam said Kamal Hisham was the only other prisoner, other than jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who have been restricted from having visits.

"The issue here is that Anwar has been convicted while Kamal Hisham is only charged, and denied the right of being bailed out by his family," he said.

In March, the High Court in Johor Baru allowed Kamal Hisham's application for permisison to visit his ailing father.

However the prosecution objected to the decision, noting that the authority to do so lies with the Prisons Department and not the presiding judge.

Kamal Hisham then filed an appeal against the objection with the Court of Appeal.