COURT of Appeal judge Hanipah Farikullah has recused herself from hearing former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali’s appeal against a High Court’s dismissal of his RM10 million defamation lawsuit against Lim Kit Siang. 

Justice Hanipah, who chaired a three-member bench, said she decided to do so as she had presided over judicial review proceedings in 2016 relating to the investigation of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.

“The subject matter of the judicial review at the High Court and this appeal involved two main issues. The first issue is the exercise of the power of the AG (Apandi), who is now the appellant in this appeal over article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution, (which deals with the power of the AG to commence or discontinue criminal court proceedings).

“The second issue is the exercise of the appellant’s discretionary power on mutual legal assistance and also to exonerate the then prime minister Najib Razak from any wrongdoing (in 1MDB scandal) at the High Court. 

“As justice must not only be done but seen to be done, I, therefore, recuse myself from hearing this appeal for the cause of justice,” she said after allowing the application by Lim’s counsel Sangeet Kaur Deo for the recusal.

The other two judges on the bench were M. Gunalan and Azmi Ariffin. The court then fixed September 4 to hear Apandi’s appeal.

Earlier, Sangeet sought the recusal as Hanipah, who was the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge in 2016, had dismissed the leave application for judicial review by former Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan to challenge Apandi’s decision to close the probe over 1MDB scandal and to exonerate Najib of any wrongdoing.

On May 23 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Apandi’s suit against the DAP veteran for allegedly defaming him in an article on the 1MDB scandal.

In his suit filed on July 5, 2019, Apandi claimed that on May 6, 2019, Lim had written and caused to be published an article titled “Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia’s on the road to integrity” in the Malaysiakini news portal.

He claimed the alleged libellous words in the article implied he was involved in crime and had abetted in the 1MDB financial scandal, was a person with no morals and integrity, was unethical and had abused his power when he was the AG.

Apandi, who was the AG from July 27, 2015, to June 4, 2018, contended that the libellous words were untrue and written with the intention of tarnishing his image and credibility as a former AG for cheap publicity.

Apandi filed the appeal on May 24 last year. – Bernama, August 8, 2023.