Anwar Ibrahim has filed a third application to remove senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from the Sodomy II appeal on the ground that he is not fit to lead the prosecution.

This is because Shafee had been fined RM5,000 by the advocates and solicitors’ disciplinary Board.

The application was filed earlier this week and it would be heard at the Court of Appeal on Monday.

Karpal Singh, who is leading the defence team, confirmed that an application had been filed on that basis.

"This follows the fact that the Kuala Lumpur High Court had last month rejected Shafee's (right) appeal against the disciplinary board's decision to impose a RM5,000 fine on him for violating the Legal Profession Act.

"This shows that he is unfit to lead the prosecution team. The attorney-general should have known that Shafee had been fined in 2009," he told Malaysiakini.

It was reported that Shafee was fined for two articles which appeared in The Star in 2009 which are said to be laudatory of the senior lawyer .

Justice Zaleha Yusof had said that it was unnecessary for the High Court to overrule the board's decision as she agreed that the two articles titled "Counsel rests his case" and "Keeping within the letter of the law" were laudatory.

Conflict of interest

Furthermore, Karpal, who is also DAP chairperson, said Shafee acted in conflict of interest in appearing for the prosecution as he was the Suhakam chairperson who was involved in the hearing of the five lawyers held by the police.

He said in the Suhakam findings, Shafee had found then Superintendent Jude Blacious Pereira (left) as not being a credible witness and with the AG-appointed lawyer leading the prosecution, he would be in conflict as now he would have to say that the police officer is credible.

"Pereira was found by Suhakam to be lying and this would place Shafee in a conflict of interest as he was chairing the panel and now leading the prosecution team in trying to convict Anwar based on the evidence of the same officer," he added.

This is the third bid to remove Shafee after Anwar's earlier two bids on the grounds that firstly, the appointment was improper under the Criminal Procedure Code, and secondly, former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim's statutory declarations were rejected.

The matters were heard at the Court of Appeal and went on appeal to the Federal Court.

Appeal on Pereira to be heard Tuesday

Meanwhile, Anwar's appeal to recall Pereira to testify at the Court of Appeal based on Suhakam's disclosure will be heard by the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Karpal said they are preparing the records of appeal on the matter to the apex court, following the short notice.

“Normally, we need to submit the appeal records within 10 days,” he said.

On Feb 12, Anwar failed in his bid to recall Pereira, as the Court of Appeal ruled that there was no special need to summon the former police officer, who was the investigating officer in the case.

The Permatang Pauh MP wanted to recall Pereira, based on the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision that the investigating officer was “not a fit and proper person” to be admitted as a lawyer to practise at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on the grounds that Suhakam found him not to be a credible witness.

Karpal had argued at the Court of Appeal that had the evidence been known, there was a possibility that Anwar's defence would not have been called in the first place.

Anwar was acquitted of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on Jan 9, 2012.

Both hearing dates of the application and appeal had been confirmed with Karpal and also the prosecution.