FORMER prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has enlisted a King Counsel to join his defence team in an effort to overturn the Court of Appeal’s decision reinstating four charges of abuse of power against him.

His lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik confirmed that Steven Perian will join a 14-member legal team for the hearing scheduled before a five-judge panel on Tuesday (July 9).

X users are commenting on the appointment of the UK lawyer, saying the former PM must be very loaded to afford such a powerful lawyer, noting that his legal team in the case is now an expanded one.

Muhyiddin, 77, is accused of using his position to solicit bribes totaling RM232.5 mil related to the Jana Wibawa Project from three companies during his tenure as prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021.

Additionally, he faces charges of receiving RM195 mil from illegal activities deposited into Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account.

In the UK and some Commonwealth realms, a King’s Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) is a lawyer appointed by the state as a senior advocate or barrister with a high degree of skill and experience in the law. When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen’s Counsel (QC).

An X user joked that it is more glamorous to have a foreign lawyer on the team.

Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the first in recent times to look for support from a UK lawyer.

In July 2022, the High Court rejected an application by British lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Najib’s SRC International Sdn Bhd appeal at the Federal Court.

In his brief decision, Justice Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid said there were no complex issues in the appeal that would require the QC’s participation.

Some users were of the view that the former PM could well be feeling guilty, and that is why he is bringing in some big guns to get the case settled. - July 6, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/x-users-question-muhyiddins-enlisting-of-king-counsel-in-abuse-of-power-case/