RM12.5mil legal bill to Bersatu not exorbitant, lawyer tells court
KUALA LUMPUR : A lawyer has denied that a bill for RM12.5 million issued to Bersatu for legal services rendered to the party is 'exorbitant' or 'grossly excessive'.
Haniff Khatri Abdulla told the High Court he had acted for Bersatu since 2016, when the party was in the process of being set up.
'I was involved in many things (from) giving advice to reviewing (election) candidates. In fact, instructions (from party leaders) came from time to time and they were not in written format.
'In the end, Bersatu succeeded (under the Pakatan Harapan coalition) in the 2018 general election,' he said, in response to Bersatu's objection to the sum charged.
Haniff filed a lawsuit in 2021, seeking to recover RM12.5 million in legal fees from Bersatu for services rendered.
He said that prior to filing the suit, he issued invoices to the party for services rendered but received no response.
In its defence, Bersatu claimed that Haniff had given it 'pro bono' services from 2016 to 2020.
Haniff also told the court that he was not seeking to 'punish' Bersatu by issuing a high-value bill for work done after the Sheraton Move. He said he was only charging for the work he had done for the party.
However, he did not deny wanting to disassociate himself from the party.
'To me, (through) the Sheraton Move, Bersatu betrayed the public's mandate, and I no longer want to be associated with them.'
I never asked Haniff to charge, lawyer tells court
Meanwhile, fellow lawyer Rosli Dahlan also testified today, as a witness for the defendants: Bersatu, the party's president Muhyiddin Yassin, and its treasurer Salleh Bajuri.
He denied inquiring whether Haniff intended to charge any legal fees to Bersatu after the 2018 general election.
'I don't recall such a phone call at all,' said Rosli.
He added that Bersatu was a new party (at the time) and had 'no funds to pay anyone'.
'Services rendered to the party (by lawyers) are on a voluntary basis without any expectation of fees,' he said.
Asked by Haniff's lawyer Nizamuddin Hamid whether Rosli had ever seen Haniff's invoice, Rosli said he had.
However, he said he did not recall seeing drafts prepared by Haniff in connection with a judicial review application by the party in 2018.
'Even if there was a draft (from Haniff) I would not have used it because we have different approaches (to handling cases),' said Rosli.
Rosli said he did not charge Bersatu or Muhyiddin for services rendered when representing the party in a 2018 case.
'At that time, he (Muhyiddin) was sacked (from Umno) and the country was in chaos. I wanted to do something for the purposes of justice,' he added.
The hearing continues before Justice Akhtar Tahir on Friday.
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