Lawyer: I had to act against Siti Kassim

© Provided by MToday News Sdn Bhd siti-kasim_law_new_600

KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyer Mohd Amir Sharil Bahari Md Noor believes he has a strong case against fellow lawyer Siti Kassim to haul her before the disciplinary board for professional misconduct.

The lawyer, better known as Amir Bahari, said Siti had gone against the ruling of the chairman who conducted the Kuala Lumpur Bar annual general meeting last week by posting a video of a speech at the meeting.

“At the outset of the AGM, the chairman informed all members present not to divulge anything to the public of the closed door proceedings,” he told FMT.

Last week Amir Bahari had filed a complaint with the Malaysian Bar Council against Siti’s Facebook posting of a video of a speech made by a lawyer at the AGM.

He claimed, too, that public comments on the posting had “endangered” his life.

Amir Bahari said Siti, an incoming Bar Council member, defied the chairman’s order and posted the recording for public consumption.

“Her conduct is in violation of the Legal Profession Act (LPA) and I had to act due to the clear legal position,” said Amir Bahari, who was one of the three candidates who contesting for the KL Bar chairman’s post.

In the contest, Goh Siu Lin created history when she was elected the first woman lawyer to head the 25-year-old Kuala Lumpur Bar.

Goh, who is also the Association of Women Lawyers president, polled 663 votes. Alex Anton Netto received 240 while Amir Bahari received 31.

Siti is said to have breached Section 76(2) of the LPA under which members are required to maintain confidentiality of deliberations at all meetings, proceedings or inquiries of the Bar Council, the State Bar Committee, the Disciplinary Board and the Disciplinary Committee, unless there is an official waiver.

Amir Bahari said he had lodged a police report against Siti on Saturday as public comments resulting from her posting “had endangered my life”.

“My safety and privacy is at stake now,” he said.

The lawyer said he accepted the election result, noting that some had claimed his campaign was destructive for using religion and a call to ban alcohol consumption at KL Bar events.

Amir Bahari said he had invited all Muslims lawyers to attend the AGM and vote for him.

“I accept the election results. Everything should have been over after the AGM,” he said.

Siti has confirmed to an online portal that she had uploaded the video of a fellow lawyer who gave her the consent to make it public.

Amir Bahari said he would leave it to the Bar Council to deal with his complaint, However, several lawyers are of the view that he should have gone straight to the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board.

A former Bar Council member who attended the meeting confirmed that the chairman who convened the meeting had reminded members to refrain from making public the proceedings.

“What happened in the AGM is supposed to be confidential to allow members to express themselves freely. In the past some speeches had bordered on sedition,” said the member who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.