Sirul Azhar Umar's case gets curiouser and curiouser-Solicitors, migration agents and a barrister muddy waters ; meanwhile Sirul appears to be unrepresented

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Sirul Azhar Umar is a Malaysian police commando currently held at Villawood Detention Centre, awaiting extradition or deportation to Malaysia where he has been sentenced to hang for  the murder of  Mongolian woman Atlantuya Shaariibuu. He is said to have disposed of her body by blowing it up with military issued C4.
Sirul's case has come to the attention of international media,given its elements of political intrigue.
One might imagine that it could not get any more intriguing, but it has. It has now come to the attention of this writer that Sirul's application to remain in Australia and escape his death sentence has been complicated by what appears to be two sets of lawyers competing against one another for reasons bets known to them.


Malaysian media reports state that Sirul is represented by Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin and Hasnal Rezua Merican,of the firm "THE CHAMBERS OF KAMARUL HISHAM & HASNAL REZUA". Malaysia has a fused profession, there is no separate roll of barristers ,  and hence  the distinction between solicitor and "counsel" is somewhat pretentious, as is the use of the term "chambers" to describe an ordinary solicitors office.Both men are well known for the fact that the ruling UMNO is their main client. This fact by itself is curious for it is UMNO  president and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak  and wife who are central to the intrigue surrounding the murder Sirul is accused of.



Be that as it may, Hasnal  now describes himself on his Facebook profile as a "former advocate and solicitor of The Chambers of Kamarul Hisham, Hasnal Rezua". Given that he is half the partnership, it does appear as if the firm has been dissolved.


He has refused to say if he still represents Sirul, but continues to be quoted in Malaysian media reports as Sirul's lawyer. He is best known for his instructions to media and (he says ) to SIrul, to not speak with anyone from the media, be it in Malaysia or Australia.



'Entah dengan siapa Mahfuz bercakap' - peguam Sirul
 Hasnal Rezua


He has also been reported to have said that that a Sydney barrister, Matthew Gollan, has been appointed to represent Sirul.Gollan has refused to confirm or deny that he has been retained to represent Sirul, and how or why instructions have been accepted from a foreign firm of solicitors with no right to practise in NSW. Consequently he has refused to say if or why the brief has been accepted directly from a client.Image result for matthew gollan barristerMatthew Gollan 

As if this was not bad enough, another lot has emerged claiming to have sole rights to represent Sirul, Enter Perth based migration agent Robert Chelliah who claims to be working with Sydney migration solicitor Christopher Levingstone, jointly representing Sirul. Robert claims to have been hired by the now apparently defunct THE CHAMBERS OF KAMARUL HISHAM & HASNAL REZUA", to  assist with obtaining Sirul a protection visa.
NONERobert Chelliah 
Christopher Levingston
Levinsgton has invoked legal professional privilege when asked to confirm if Sirul is or was his client. Nevertheless he has ordered this writer : "Do not contact my client".
Levingston  had earlier ordered this writer to stop "pestering" his client ; an order,like the one above , which is  difficult to understand  given that this writer has never had any contact whatsoever with Sirul. Nevertheless , Levingston's orders bring us to  the matter of who precisely is  Sirul's gatekeeper. That role, according to friends of Sirul's family, has been assumed by one Datuk Ganasan "Gunna"Narianasamy , a former clerk at the Supreme Court registry, best known these days as a knighted hockey playing agent for Gollan, and/or the Malaysian Government , and/or the Malaysian Police, and/or the Malaysian Special Branch, depending on who he is speaking with.
Inline image 1
Datuk Ganasan Narianasamy, standing ,third from left

Meanwhile, it does not appear as if Sirul Azhar Umar is being represented by anyone.
END 




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