GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here today fixed Feb 7 to hear a motion filed by two accused parties in the corruption case of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng seeking a declaration that Section 62 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act is unconstitutional.
Datuk V. Sithambaram, lead member of prominent businesswoman Phang Li Koon's defence team, filed the motion earlier this week.
Gobind Singh Deo, who is leading Lim's defence team, will file a similar motion today.
Judge Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, when fixing the date, said the motion’s application should be disposed of first, before the trial proper begins in March.
She stressed that the trial dates, which had been fixed in the last proceedings in Dec, remain unchanged.
"The corruption act has been there for a long time. Section 62 has always been there as well.
"No one can amend the law, but what the court can do is to interpret the act," Hadhariah told the court.
On June 30, Lim claimed trial to two counts of corruption.
He is alleged to have used his position as a civil servant to obtain gratification, for himself and his wife, by approving an application by Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd to convert agricultural land into residential land, while chairing a state Planning Committee meeting on July 18, 2014.
He was also charged with using his position to buy a house from co-defendant Phang at RM2.8 million, which was below the property's market value of RM4.27 million, on July 28 last year.
Phang claimed trial to abetment.
On Dec 6, Hadhariah fixed 34 days between March and July this year for the trial proper.