Bar members: Retract Sodomy II statement
Alyaa AzharPublished: Feb 21, 2015 4:22 AM | Updated: Feb 21, 2015 11:02 AM
Around 100 members of the Malaysian Bar have urged Bar Council president Christopher Leong to retract the statement he made on the conviction of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy.
Around 100 members of the Malaysian Bar have urged Bar Council president Christopher Leong to retract the statement he made on the conviction of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy.
The members also urged Leong to tender a public apology to the judiciary as well as to all international bodies and entities.
Malaysian Bar member Mohd Noor Amin said should Leong fail to do so, they will take all "necessary steps" to call for his resignation as Malaysian Bar president.
"We would also urge the attorney-general (Abdul Gani Patail) to take the necessary contempt proceeding against Leong," he said in a press conference today.
The members' grouse is in relation to Leong's statement dated Feb 11, a day after Anwar's conviction.
Leong’s statement on Sodomy II had said that Anwar was "persecuted" but the lawyers said it should have been "prosecuted".
The group however said they would give Leong up to 14 days to recant.
In immediate reaction, Leong encouraged the 100 members to attend the Malaysian Bar's annual general meeting on March 14 to air their views.
He said the Bar welcomes views from members and grouses should be aired at the AGM where many fellow members of the Bar would be present.
“We encourage and welcome all practising members of the Bar to attend the annual general meeting of the Malaysian Bar on March 14 to raise any issue and to air their views,” he said when contacted.
Statement a 'direct attack' on Federal Court
Meanwhile, they also pointed out that although Leong had admitted that he had not read the Federal Court judgment when he issued the statement, he had instead made "disparaging remarks" that it was without "any basis in law".
"This is a direct attack on the Federal Court without any legal basis, with the effect of bringing the Federal Court into disrepute and odium," said Mohd Noor (far right).
He added that Leong's statement "militates against the fundamental and statutory duties of the Malaysian Bar", which includes the protection of the integrity and sanctity of the judicial system.
On Leong’s point which questioned why complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was not charged with abetment under Sections 377A and 377B, read together with Section 109 of the Penal Code, Mohd Noor said such statement was "outrageous" for even a lay person to make, what more a leader of the Malaysian legal profession.
Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Bar member Abdul Aziz A Rahman meanwhile, believes the number of those who object against Leong's statement would grow.
Nevertheless, he admitted that they were not concerned in recruiting more members as they were not a political party.
"But the fact that there's more than 100 members who have voiced out their discontent shows something," he said.
Attached to the press statement given out to members of the press at the press conference today were 100 names of Malaysian Bar members around the country who supported the call for retraction.
The members also urged Leong to tender a public apology to the judiciary as well as to all international bodies and entities.
Malaysian Bar member Mohd Noor Amin said should Leong fail to do so, they will take all "necessary steps" to call for his resignation as Malaysian Bar president."We would also urge the attorney-general (Abdul Gani Patail) to take the necessary contempt proceeding against Leong," he said in a press conference today.
The members' grouse is in relation to Leong's statement dated Feb 11, a day after Anwar's conviction.
Leong’s statement on Sodomy II had said that Anwar was "persecuted" but the lawyers said it should have been "prosecuted".
The group however said they would give Leong up to 14 days to recant.
In immediate reaction, Leong encouraged the 100 members to attend the Malaysian Bar's annual general meeting on March 14 to air their views.
He said the Bar welcomes views from members and grouses should be aired at the AGM where many fellow members of the Bar would be present.
“We encourage and welcome all practising members of the Bar to attend the annual general meeting of the Malaysian Bar on March 14 to raise any issue and to air their views,” he said when contacted.
Statement a 'direct attack' on Federal Court
Meanwhile, they also pointed out that although Leong had admitted that he had not read the Federal Court judgment when he issued the statement, he had instead made "disparaging remarks" that it was without "any basis in law".
"This is a direct attack on the Federal Court without any legal basis, with the effect of bringing the Federal Court into disrepute and odium," said Mohd Noor (far right).He added that Leong's statement "militates against the fundamental and statutory duties of the Malaysian Bar", which includes the protection of the integrity and sanctity of the judicial system.
On Leong’s point which questioned why complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was not charged with abetment under Sections 377A and 377B, read together with Section 109 of the Penal Code, Mohd Noor said such statement was "outrageous" for even a lay person to make, what more a leader of the Malaysian legal profession.
Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Bar member Abdul Aziz A Rahman meanwhile, believes the number of those who object against Leong's statement would grow.
Nevertheless, he admitted that they were not concerned in recruiting more members as they were not a political party.
"But the fact that there's more than 100 members who have voiced out their discontent shows something," he said.
Attached to the press statement given out to members of the press at the press conference today were 100 names of Malaysian Bar members around the country who supported the call for retraction.
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