Lawyer Shahid Adli Kamarudin said he informed Federal Court deputy registrar Khainur Aleeza Ismail about the instruction from his client during a case management today.
“The deputy registrar took notice of the matter and fixed another case management on March 19,” he told FMT.
FMT understands Anwar is objecting to JAC members sitting as judges in the application as they could have recommended to the prime minister to appoint Zulkefli to his current position.
Chief Justice Raus Sharif is the JAC chairman.
Zulkefli is the deputy chairman and others are Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Maarop, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judge Azahar Mohamed.
The remaining JAC members are four eminent persons — former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, former Court of Appeal judge K Anantham, former Sarawak attorney-general Abdul Razak Tready and Universiti Malaya law faculty dean Choong Yeow Choy.
On Nov 10, Anwar filed the application following a Federal Court decision by a three-man bench chaired by Zulkefli on Oct 27 which refused him permission to be present in court to follow his civil case againt the Election Commission.
The opposition leader claims the bench was illegally constituted as Zulkefli’s appointment is unconstitutional.
Anwar said the sitting was bad for want of a coram as a minimum of three judges was necessary to make a decision under Section 74 of the Courts of Judicature Act.
He said since the chairman was disqualified from sitting, that provision had not been complied with.
Anwar wants the decision to stop him from attending his case to be set aside and a fresh bench be formed to rehear his application to be present in court.
Anwar, who is serving a five-year jail term for sodomy, said Zulkefli’s appointment, both as additional judge and his reappointment as Court of Appeal president, is against provisions in the Federal Constitution.
The government, on July 7, announced that Raus would remain in office for another three years from Aug 4, while Zulkefli would remain in his post for another two years from Sept 28.
Both were appointed as chief justice and Court of Appeal president on April 1 and were scheduled to retire on Aug 3 and Sept 27 respectively, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 66 years and six months.
The Malaysian Bar and the Advocates Association of Sarawak has filed separate but identical legal challenges that the appointments of Raus and Zulkefli were also against the provisions in the constitution and the Federal Court will hear the matter on March 14.
However, both the lawyers’ groups want Ahmad (Chief Judge of Malaya) to advise the king that a special panel of retired judges hear and determine the legal standing of the two most senior judges.
That application will be heard on Friday, March 2.