ANWAR Ibrahim wants action taken against Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, saying tonight an Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) affidavit backs his claim that the Umno lawyer was paid RM9.5 million after prosecuting him.

The PKR president-elect previously said former prime minister Najib Razak had paid Shafee the amount from September 2013 to February 2014, when the lawyer was made special prosecutor in Anwar’s sodomy appeal at the Federal Court.

“The affidavit is being released to the public. I believe that in the ‘New Malaysia’, we must be uncompromising in our commitment to the rule of law, and to re-establishing the credibility of the judiciary and legal fraternity.

“These abuses of power should not be allowed to continue, and there must be accountability,” he said in a statement released by his office.

Anwar said his lawyers this morning handed him an affidavit signed by an AGC officer that “substantiates our allegation of substantial payments” made to Shafee.

“I maintain that Shafee should never have been allowed to prosecute the appeal in the first place.

“Appointing an outside prosecutor is not an ordinary practice by the attorney-general, and is even more irregular in this case, when the individual appointed is a known close confidante of Najib, who is himself materially involved in the case.”

He said Shafee was also “witness to events in the conspiracy against me that took place in the presence of Najib, making both parties potential witnesses”.

“The fact that Shafee also received RM9.5 million from Najib’s personal bank account during the time frame of his role as prosecutor in my appeal destroys his credibility as an unbiased agent of AGC.”

Anwar appealed for corrective steps to be taken, to ensure confidence in the integrity of the legal system.

Shafee is now Najib’s lawyer in several abuse of power and money laundering cases brought against the former prime minister after he was ousted following Barisan Nasional’s historic defeat in the May 9 general election.

Najib has maintained his innocence.

Attorney-General Tommy Thomas has also appointed special prosecutors, namely senior lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah and former top judge Gopal Sri Ram, to pursue the state’s cases against Najib. – September 6, 2018.