The former Johor Bahru MP said Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor and lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah were charged in the lower court, but the prosecution had applied to have their trials moved to the High Court.
He was referring to Najib’s trial on seven counts of corruption involving RM42 million and 25 charges for abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion.
Rosmah is facing 12 counts of money laundering, involving about RM7 million and five counts for failing to declare her income to LHDN. Shafee has claimed trial to two counts of making false declarations to LHDN for not including the RM9.5 million in his tax filing for 2013 and 2014.
Shahrir, in an affidavit filed to support an application to transfer his matter to the High Court, said his case was similar to Shafee’s. He made the application in August.
He questioned why the prosecution, who framed the charges against him during the tenure of former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas, was objecting to the transfer.
“I believe this objection shows that my constitutional right to equality and equal protection of the law is being denied,” he said in the affidavit.
Further, he said if his case began in the sessions court and ended in the Court of Appeal, only five judges would hear him, whereas he would benefit from appearing before nine judges if his case began in the High Court and ended in the Federal Court.
Shahrir said the revelation made by Thomas in his biography “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” released in late January also showed that the former AG did not understand his functions.
High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan is due to hear the application on May 21. It was supposed to be heard today but was postponed to allow the prosecution to respond to Shahrir’s affidavit.
Meanwhile, sessions court judge Azura Alwi also deferred Shahrir’s trial dates pending a decision by Zaini.
Shahrir, 72, is charged with money laundering by not stating his real income in the Income Tax Return Form for Assessment Year 2013, a violation of Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 on the RM1 million believed to be from unlawful activities, which he received from Najib through an AmIslamic Bank cheque dated Nov 27, 2013.
The cheque was then deposited into his (Shahrir’s) Public Islamic Bank account on Nov 28, 2013.
He was charged with committing the offence at LHDN’s Duta branch, Government Office Complex, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim here on April 25, 2014.
Lawyer Shahrul Syazwan Salehin, a member of Shahrir’s legal team, told reporters after a sessions court proceeding that parties would return to update Azura on the status of the trial after Zaini’s ruling.