KUALA LUMPUR: Controversial veteran lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s diplomatic passport has been revoked, confirmed the Foreign Ministry.
Its minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the diplomatic passport of Shafee, who represents former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was cancelled on Sept 19.
“The Foreign Ministry has retracted and cancelled Muhammad Shafee’s diplomatic passport,” he said in a written reply to Pang Hok Liong (PH-DAP-Labis).
Pang had wanted to know whether the government would cancel Shafee’s diplomatic passport as the lawyer was not appointed as a diplomat.
Saifuddin said that the diplomatic passport was issued on the capacity of Shafee as Malaysia’s representative to the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) from 2009 until 2015.
He said that Shafee was also appointed as Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights between 2016 and this year.
“The diplomatic passport was issued to make it easier for him to carry out his official tasks as the country’s representative,” said Saifuddin.
Shafee is facing two counts of receiving RM9.5 million, proceeds of money laundering, from Najib.
The lawyer also faces two additional counts of making a false statement by not declaring the RM9.5 million as income to the Inland Revenue Board.