KUALA LUMPUR: Following his appointment as minister, Gobind Singh Deo will no longer be able to defend Lim Guan Eng and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in their corruption trials.
The 50-year-old senior lawyer is the lead defence counsel for both cases.
Haijan Omar who is also one of the counsels in both cases, said Gobind's departure would not jeopardise the defence's ability to present their arguments.
"So far, we maintain the defence team.
"Who shall lead is still a matter for discussion with the client," he said when contacted today.
Haijan said currently, the defence intended to uphold its strategy in Lim's corruption case.
When asked about Syed Saddiq's appeal, he said the case was now taken over by Messrs. Wong Kien Kheong.
Lim is facing four charges of using his position as the then Penang chief minister to solicit gratification to help Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) to secure the Penang undersea tunnel project.
He is also accused of receiving RM3.3 million for himself and causing two plots of land belonging to the state government to be disposed of to two companies linked to the tunnel project. The case is still under trial.
Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq was sentenced to three years jail and one stroke of the cane for abetting criminal breach of trust involving RM1 million of Bersatu Youth's (Armada) funds.
The 30-year-old Muar member of parliament is appealing the decision at the Court of Appeal.
Gobind makes a return to the cabinet as the digital minister during the cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim earlier today.
The Damansara member of parliament was previously the communications and multimedia minister in the Pakatan Harapan administration from 2018 to 2020.
Anwar, during the press conference said digital transformation would be a major focus for the government.
"Communications; media and social media pose their own challenges.
"The criticism levelled at us (includes) communication and information dissemination were not satisfactory despite having some good policies, so there is a need to focus.
"Issues on digital transformation have been the government's main focus and must be managed well."
Among them are challenges in the ever-changing digital sector, central database, AI and students' comprehension in education of all levels, he said.