Rosmah seeks to postpone July appeal against conviction in bribes-for-solar project case
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor is seeking to have the Court of Appeal postpone its July hearing on her appeal against her conviction, jail sentence and RM970 million fine in a corruption case involving bribes for a solar power project for rural Sarawak schools.
Deputy public prosecutor Poh Yih Tinn told Malay Mail today that Rosmah’s recent application to postpone the solar case’s appeal hearing is based on her lawyers’ argument that the Federal Court needs to first hear and decide on her related judicial review challenge.
According to Poh, the Court of Appeal held a case management today for the solar case, where the deputy registrar informed both Rosmah’s lawyers and the prosecution that the court acknowledged that Rosmah had made the application to adjourn the hearing of her appeal against the High Court’s decision to convict her.
Poh said the deputy registrar had also noted that the prosecution has no objection to Rosmah’s application to postpone the solar appeal hearing.
The Court of Appeal has yet to decide on Rosmah’s application, with both Rosmah’s lawyers and the prosecution told today that any application for the solar appeal hearing to be postponed must be made in open court. The date for proceedings in open court has yet to be scheduled.
If the Court of Appeal does not grant Rosmah’s application for adjournment, the hearing for her appeal in the solar case will then start on July 12, Poh confirmed.
Those present at the case management today for Rosmah were her lawyers Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, Datuk Jagjit Singh, Azrul Zulkifli Stork, while Mangaiarkarasi Krishnan appeared for the prosecution today.
As for the judicial review matter which Rosmah hopes to have the Federal Court decide first, it is linked to her bid to be acquitted of all corruption charges by having the courts nullify her entire trial in the solar case.
Her judicial review case is based on her challenge against the appointment of the late Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram as the lead prosecutor in her solar trial, but she must first obtain leave from the courts for her challenge to be heard.
Rosmah had in August 2022 failed to get the High Court’s leave or nod to hear her judicial review application, while the Court of Appeal had also this June 22 rejected her appeal for leave for her judicial review case.
On June 15, the Court of Appeal allowed Rosmah’s passport to be temporarily released to her from June 15 to July 7 to enable her to travel to Singapore to visit her daughter and the latter’s family. On June 21, Rosmah was seen attending her husband and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
