Sultan’s ex-lawyer claims revenge behind arrest as he takes Johor top cop to court

The former lawyer of the Johor sultan today said his recent arrest by the police was motivated by revenge, ruling out however any direct involvement on the part of Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.

Kamal Hisham Jaafar told MalaysiaNow that it might involve those close to the ruler who are unhappy that he walked free after his case was dropped by the court several years ago.

“Those around the sultan see that my life is now okay, nothing is happening. All my cases before, the sultan always called them for developments. When nothing is happening, they become less important.

“I do not believe that the sultan is involved,” he added. “I am a small fry, too small to be treated like that by the sultan.”

Kamal has filed notice of a RM50 million defamation suit against Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay. The notice was handed over by Messrs Kamal Hisham & Associates to Ayob at the Johor Bahru police headquarters yesterday.

Ayob at a press conference said the Johor police had arrested a lawyer pretending to represent the Johor royal palace last Thursday, following a police report made on March 31, 2011.

He said further investigation found that the suspect had 17 previous cases related to criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

Kamal voiced disappointment at Ayob’s claims which he said had not been put through a thorough review.

“Police officers can check the police system,” he said. “If I had a criminal record, my licence to practise would be long gone.

“I have no criminal record,” he added. “My passport is still valid and the Bar Council has never revoked my licence.”

He also denied ever masquerading as a lawyer for the Johor palace.

“And I have never been charged with a crime,” he said. “My case was thrown out by the court.”

He said the suit against the Johor police chief was also to protect the name of his business.

“I could lose a lot,” he said. “With things like this, even applying for a loan would be difficult.

“I don’t understand Ayob’s intentions. I just want to start a new life.”

In a statement last month, Kamal labelled the latest case against him at the Shah Alam Sessions Court as malicious prosecution, saying he had not committed an offence.

“This case was investigated in 2011 and categorised as ‘no further action’,” he said.

In 2018, the Sessions Court in Johor Bahru fined Kamal RM30,000 after he pled guilty to a charge under the Companies Act 1965.

He was offered a deal by the prosecution under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code to plead guilty to the offence with the lightest sentence and no criminal record.

Sultan Ibrahim in June that same year agreed to pardon Kamal of all acts against him whether intentional or not.

Kamal was arrested and placed under remand in September 2015 in relation to a fraud case after reportedly moving to Dubai.

He was held in remand for a national record of nearly three years.

He said his relationship with the Johor palace began to deteriorate after the death of the former sultan, Sultan Iskandar.

It is understood to involve the issue of the division of property.