Fong (left) and Sharifah (centre) at Sibu Court Complex for the case trial yesterday.
SIBU (July 27): The Sibu High Court yesterday dismissed an objection over State Legal Counsel Dato Sri JC Fong’s role as lead counsel for the state government in the defamation suit against Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.
Judicial Commissioner Christopher Chin, in dismissing the matter raised by the defence counsel, said ethics of a professional lawyer comes from within and should not require the court to enforce unless the counsel was appearing without practicing certificate.
According to the notes of the proceedings made available to the press today, Chin said: “As the plaintiff’s team of counsel have heard the objection, then I feel that it is within their own professional conscience to decide if they should be disqualified themselves.
“If they are in fact conflicted, then, it is likely that they would be digging their own grave as far as the plaintiff’s case is concerned as the trial progresses,” he said.
The defence counsel had argued that Fong was involved in the settlement between the state government and Petronas and therefore, had personal knowledge which made him a potential witness depending on how the case progresses.
Fong said the objection raised by the defence counsel was not bona fide and that he was not called as the plaintiff’s witness.
Yesterday was the first day of the defamation suit’s hearing.
The state government is claiming that Wong had defamed it in a statement issued on May 9 which questioned the settlement with Petronas on the state sales tax. It is suing Wong, who is Bawang Assan assemblyman and a former state minister, for RM5 million.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali was called as the first witness yesterday and she continued to testify today.
The court yesterday also heard that former Petronas chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh was expected to testify for the defence on July 29.
The plaintiff was also represented by state legal officers Adzrul Adzlan, Oliver Chua and Anisa Fadhillah Mohamed Jamel; while the defence team was represented by George Lo, Jonathan Tay, Clement Wong, Thien Siaw Lien and Yvonne Sia.
The trial is scheduled to continue until Friday. The media is not permitted to attend the hearing.