Court isn’t circus: DPP

PETALING JAYA: Ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram today stressed that the Federal Court is “not a circus”, after the defence sought to present a different lawyer to argue for the recusal of Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from hearing Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s in his final appeal hearing Malay Mail reports.

He said this after a lawyer sitting in the gallery attempted to submit his own arguments in a bid to recuse the chief justice.

Earlier, lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin had requested to argue on behalf of Najib, after the court earlier rejected Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s bid to adjourn the hearing for “24 hours” to make necessary preparations for Najib’s recusal application.

Sithambaram, who is leading the prosecution, then reportedly stood up in objection as Firoz Hussein walked from the public gallery towards where the defence was seated.

“This is a court of law, not a circus. We can’t have people walking in and out, there ought to be decorum,“ he reportedly said.