Malaysian Bar denies snubbing lawyer’s call for help

Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor says the claim made by P Uthayakumar is ‘totally untrue’.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Bar has denied that it received a request for assistance after a lawyer was charged with obstructing a police officer from carrying out his duties.

Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor told FMT the claim, made by Hindraf 2.0 leader P Uthayakumar, was “totally untrue”.

He said his office received only a copy of a representation letter to Attorney-General Tommy Thomas.

Uthayakumar, in a recent press conference where lawyer K Arivom Namasivaya was present, said letters to the bar, the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang all went unanswered.

Arivom was charged at the Port Dickson magistrate’s court last July 26 with obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his functions.

The charge stemmed from an incident at the Port Dickson district police headquarters.

Arivom said he and his client, an alleged victim of domestic violence, were arrested during a commotion that developed after police tried to arrest her. He claimed there was no call for any arrest because the investigating officer in the case, who had asked him and the client to show up for questioning, had not yet arrived for the interview.

Abdul Fareed said his office did act on the copy of the letter sent to the attorney-general by asking Negeri Sembilan Bar chairman Azmi Abdol to inquire into the case and urging him to speak to the state prosecutor.

He said this happened a few days before the press conference.

WAO executive director Sumitra Visvanathan also denied receiving any letter on the matter and Arivom, when contacted by FMT, acknowledged that no letter was sent to WAO. He said his clerk forgot to send it.

But he said he spoke to a Bar Council member who told him he would talk to Abdul Fareed. He added that he also spoke to someone claiming to be Abdul Fareed’s secretary.

Arivom, who is a DAP member, also said Lim Kit Siang was aware of the case.

The case is due to come up for mention on Sept 5.

Uthayakumar said he had asked Negeri Sembilan prosecution unit director Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin to withdraw the charges against Arivom and had received a reply that then Solicitor-General III Mohd Hanafiah Zakaria had instructed Wan Shaharuddin to proceed with the case. Wan Shaharuddin would not comment when contacted.

Arivom said he also approached the Selangor Bar for assistance and was told it would not intervene in a personal matter.

FMT has contacted Tommy Thomas and Selangor Bar chairman Bernard Scott for their comments and has yet to get their responses. - FMT