PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here on Friday (March 11) allowed an application by former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad for the temporary return of his passport, which had been surrendered to the court, to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom for his stepdaughter's convocation ceremony at a university there on March 30.

       A panel of three judges led by Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said said the passport, which would be handed over to Mohd Isa on March 14, should be returned to the court on April 16.

       Judge Kamaludin, who sat with Datuk Lee Heng Cheong and Datuk Ghazali Cha, allowed the application after hearing submissions from lawyer Datuk Wan Azmir Wan Majid, representing Mohd Isa.

       Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz did not object to the application.

       Earlier, Wan Azmir, in his submission, said his client had to leave for the United Kingdom on March 26 to attend his stepdaughter's convocation ceremony and would return to Malaysia on April 9.

       "I request that the passport be handed over to the applicant as soon as possible because it needs to be renewed. My client will return to Malaysia on April 9 and I request that he be allowed to return the passport by April 16,” he said.

       He also informed the court that Mohd Isa had taken care of his stepdaughter since she was a child.

       On Feb 3 last year, Isa, 72, was convicted on nine corruption charges involving RM3mil in connection with Felda’s purchase of Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites (MPHS) in Kuching, Sarawak.

       He was sentenced to six years’ jail on each count of the charges.

       However, Mohd Isa, only has to serve six years in prison after the judge ordered the prison sentences to be served concurrently.

       In Feb 4, 2021, the former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar filed an his appeal against his conviction and sentences.

       The appeal has been set for case management before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Mohd Khairi Haron this May 11. - Bernama