Bar may refer Shafee to disciplinary board for alleged misconduct

Newly-elected Bar president Steven Thiru (third from left) is expressed his disappointment in Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah for the injunction instead of debating it with his peers at the AGM today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, March 14, 2015. 

The newly elected Bar Council is looking into the possibility of referring Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to the advocates and solicitors disciplinary board for alleged misconduct after securing a conviction against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Newly-elected Bar president Steven Thiru said they will also challenge the injunction that Shafee obtained to restrain the Bar from discussing his conduct at today’s annual general meeting (AGM).

"We have appointed counsel and guided by advisers to set aside the injunction," he said at a press conference after the first council meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.

"Independently of that, we are looking into the possibility of referring Shafee to the disciplinary board as provided under the Legal Profession Act."

Steven expressed his disappointment with Shafee for filing the injunction instead of attending the AGM today to debate the matter.

"We are disappointed. Tan Sri Shafee has been willing to debate the matter in public. He has gone on forums and on TV.

"We are disappointed that he did not come today to debate the matter with his peers in the Bar," he said.

Shafee obtained an injunction yesterday to prevent the Malaysian Bar AGM from discussing his conduct and his participation in a roadshow to talk about Anwar’s sodomy conviction.

The motion to discuss his conduct was proposed by lawyer Tommy Thomas and seconded by former Court of Appeal judge Tan Sri V.C. George.

Steven also said it was commendable of the lawyers who had proposed and seconded a motion to censure former Bar president Christopher Leong for allegedly making disparaging remarks against the judiciary after the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim verdict.

"The lawyers filed the motion, they came and debated the matter although it was finally defeated," he said when asked if Shafee should have taken the opportunity to debate his conduct in the AGM.

Leong, who chaired the proceedings earlier today, allowed members who were for and against the motion to debate the matter extensively for 2 hours, although he was the subject of the dispute.

In his injunction, Shafee named Thomas and George, as well as the Malaysian Bar and Leong as the respondents.

Thomas and George had been urging the Bar to censure Shafee, who was appointed as deputy public prosecutor to lead the prosecution team in the sodomy trial of Anwar at the appellate and Federal Court stages.

The Federal Court on February 10 found Anwar guilty of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and also upheld the Appeals Court’s 5 year jail sentence.

Following the court decision, Shafee embarked on a roadshow organised by the ruling Barisan Nasional to explain the verdict to the public.

In 2 sessions that he gave as part of the roadshow as well as in interviews with mainstream newspapers, Shafee was said to have continued demonising and condemning Anwar and the defence team, despite the fact that opposition leader was already in prison and could not answer any charges.

- TMI