Mohamed Shafee Abdullah

Mohamed Shafee bin Mohamed Abdullah (born 4 February 1952) is a Malaysian lawyer. He is a well-known lawyer who recently defended the former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was charged with money laundering to the tune of RM42 million.[1][2]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Mohamed Abdullah is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Mohamed Shafee. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Sri
Mohamed Shafee Abdullah
PSM SSAP
Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
In office
April 2004 – April 2010
Personal details
Born
Mohamed Shafee bin Mohamed Abdullah

(1952-02-04) 4 February 1952
Pulau Pinang, Crown Colony of Penang (now part of Malaysia)
CitizenshipMalaysian
Spouse(s)Sabera Shaik
Tania Scivetti
RelativesMohamed Omar (brother)
Halimatus Saadiah (sister)
Fatimah Bevi (sister)
EducationRoyal Military College
Alma materUniversity of Malaya (LLB)
London School of Economics (LLM)
OccupationLawyer

On 13 September 2018, Mohamed Shafee pleaded not guilty to receiving proceeds from unlawful activity via cheques issued by former prime minister Najib Razak, which were remitted into Shafee’s CIMB Bank Berhad account.[3][4]

Early life and education

Mohamed Shafee completed his secondary education at Royal Military College and graduated with a Second Lieutenant ranking in 1972. He obtained Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Malaya (UM) in 1977 and Master of Laws (LLM) from the London School of Economics in 1984.[5]

Law career

Representative of Suhakam to AICHR

Mohamed Shafee is the Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). On 22 October 2009 he was appointed to represent Malaysia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) - the first body of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. Leaders of ASEAN countries were also present in conjunction with the 15th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand. Shafee's name was proposed by Wisma Putra and accepted by Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak.[6]

Defending Rais Yatim

On 13 January 2012, he became a lawyer for the Minister of Information Communication and Culture, Rais Yatim in a defamation suit and contempt of court involving blogger Amizudin Ahmat. On Jan 31, 2011, Rais, 69, filed a suit against Amizudin, 42, who is also a member of the Angkatan Muda Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) committee in relation to an article published in the sharpshooterblogger.blogspot.com blog, on or around December 28, 2010.[7]

Representative of Malaysian Government to the US

On April 18, 2012, the online portal Malaysiakini revealed that he was appointed by Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and his wife Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor for confidential assignments abroad from 2 to 25 April 2012. The contents of his letter were revealed in the Dewan Rakyat by Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR-Machang) while debating the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2012. Shafee appointed by the Malaysian government to carry out sensitive legal duties abroad that must be completed before the general election. Among the locations he visited were New York, London, Dubai Paris and Basel, Switzerland. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz could not confirm the application letter dated 23 March 2012 regarding the exemption from trial during that period.[8][9]

Defending Abdul Razak Baginda

He was one of the advocates for Abdul Razak Baginda in the murder case of Altantuya Shaariibuu.[10]

Defending Team B UMNO

He was also one of the individuals who caused UMNO to be banned by the court in 1986, representing the party that later formed the Semangat 46 party, during the UMNO internal turmoil at the time.[11]

Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial II

Dato 'Seri Anwar Ibrahim had three times tried to drop Shafee from the prosecution on the grounds of disqualification, conflict of interest and breach of ethics, but without success. Former president of the Bar Council, Dato 'Ambiga Sreenevasan stated that it had never happened before for a public prosecutor to blame the accused after the court made a decision. According to Mingguan Malaysia, Shafee was willing to swear in the holy land of Mecca to prove Anwar guilty.[12]

After the trial, Anwar Ibrahim was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. It turns out that Shafee as the prosecutor won the case. For Abdul Talib Osman, he never appointed anyone outside the AGC to prosecute. There is no need to appoint someone from outside.[13]

Controversies and issues

On 13 September 2018, Mohamed Shafee was led into Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to face two counts of money laundering and two counts of making false statements. According to the charge sheet, Shafee was alleged to have engaged in two counts of money laundering activities by receiving proceeds from illegal activities amounting to RM9.5 million, the sum was allegedly transferred to Shafee in two tranches from a bank account belonging to former prime minister Najib Razak.

Shafee also faces two counts of violating the Income Tax Act 1967 by omitting the income received from Najib in statements made to the Inland Revenue Board on two occasions in 2015. He pleaded not guilty to all four charges, the court set bail at RM1 million with two sureties.[14]

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

Honorary degrees

References
  1. "Shafee: It's hard to mount a defense for Najib because of prejudice". The Edge Market. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  2. "In mitigation, Shafee says the only thing Najib is guilty of is 'over-trusting people'". Malay Mail. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. Agencies (2018-09-13). "Najib Razak's lawyer charged with money laundering by 1MDB investigators". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. "Malaysian ex-PM's lawyer charged with money laundering". Associated Press. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  5. "Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Muhammad Shafee Abdullah". ASEAN CSR Network.
  6. "Shafee Abdullah wakil Malaysia bagi AICHR". Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  7. "Kes hina mahkamah ditangguh, penulis blog hilangkan diri". Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  8. Pathmawathy, S. (18 April 2012). "Misteri tugasan luar negara Shafee". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  9. Pathmawathy, S. (18 April 2012). "'PM patut jelaskan misi sulit Shafee di luar negara'". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  10. Newspapers
  11. Kalau ada konspirasi, Saiful tidak pergi ke tiga hospital - Shafee Astro Awani. 18 February 2015
  12. The Malaysian Insider
  13. Bekas AG: Shafee 'iklankan' diri sendiri
  14. "Shafee cries 'victimisation', bail set at RM1m". Malaysiakini. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  15. "Shafee Terima Gelaran Tan Sri Daripada Agong". MStar. 27 September 2013.
  16. "Shafee conferred Doctor of Law award". The Star.
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