"The Council has been talking about freedom of the Press. It's funny that no media coverage was allowed." - lawyer-blogger Rapera
It's no secret that the Bar Council is a major force behind Bersih, the pro-Opposition movement that insists that the national electoral process is flawed, dirty, unfair despite the huge gains made by the political parties that it backs in the last two general elections. Former Bar Council boss Ambiga, after all, was the main force behind the post-2008 Bersih and is still one of Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat poster ladies despite her incessant claims of being non-partisan.
So it must come as a big blow to the Council, to Ambiga and Bersih supporters generally when the Bar Council's own members are now crying foul over the process to elect new Councillors that took place yesterday.
The Press was not allowed but thank God the Mole spoke to members for this story:
The Bar Council’s election for the 2015 – 2016 term ended with controversy when running candidates were prevented from witnessing the entire vote-counting process.
Contender Mohamad Reza Abu Hassan told The Mole that candidates were only allowed to see the process through a live video streaming if they signed a letter of undertaking (LOU).
“I refused to sign it because the election committee could not tell me why we have to sign it.
“They said although it is not stated in the law, that is an internal procedure that we have to oblige,” said Reza, adding that he doubted the transparency of the election.
“Candidates were not allowed to see the live counting process.
“They only showed us the video streaming where I can only see a pair of hands and ballot boxes,” he added.
Reza said he was subsequently barred from watching the live streaming for refusing to sign the LOU.
It was learnt that the media was also prevented from covering the election.
The election, which saw 23 candidates vying for the council’s top 12 positions, saw Hendon Mohamed received the highest votes of 1,948, followed by Datuk Haji Sulaiman Abdullah (1,788) and Brendan Navin Siva (1,638).
Reza, who ended on the 17th spot, claimed he was not surprised with the result as majority of the 12 were “of the same clique.”
Lawyer Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay said the council should prove its transparency by allowing members to witness the counting process.
“Besides scrutinisers, the members should be able to be part of the election.
“The counting process should be made public so that the contenders or other members can ask for a recount if they are not satisfied,” he said.
Mohd Haaziq however agreed that the media should not be allowed to cover the election process.
“It’s a private body…But members may turn to the media if they witness any wrongdoing in the process.”
Mohd Haaziq felt Hendon deserved to win.
“She has proven to be a gem because she always supports the council and attends every function it organises.
“She is very vocal in her opinions and the council could benefit from her quality.”
Another contender Datuk Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos also told The Mole that he heard about candidates being prevented from watching the vote-counting.
“The council has been talking about freedom of press but it’s funny that no media coverage is allowed,” he said.
However, freshly-elected committee member Ravi Nekoo said the election was conforming to democratic process.
“I did not hear any complaint regarding the election.
“Everyone has the rights to vote for the candidate they support so we should all respect and accept the results,” said Ravi, who ended up at the ninth spot.
----------------------------------------------------ends--------------------------------------------------
The restriction on the Press provokes the mStar to call for greater transparency: Pastikan Pemilihan Majlis Peguam Bersih, Dec 3
The Umno blogger MiM is no-holds-barred in his latest posting Memalukan! Pekong Busuk Bar Council Didedahkan!
p.s. Me, I say clean up your mess quick, mates. And please explain why the Press was not allowed ...And coincidentally, Anwar Ibrahim's counsel clinched second top spot in Bar Council election
Perhaps they could sue each other?
ReplyDeleteLOL
Gonen should follow what Bar Council did. Mcm tu jer nk ajar orang kurang ajar.
ReplyDeleteMat Bonk
I thought Bar Council do not exist anymore...Disgraceful for once they were the most respected professions and nowadays they becomes tools,puppets,and most important their attitudes towards the press.Nowadays they behave like political party rather than professionals Organisation.What a shame.
ReplyDeleteAiyah! Wonder if they used the same worksheet that a political party used earlier... Also was there a blackout when counting the votes? Btw who won? Team Dark blue or team light blue & co?
ReplyDeleteThe Executive Body of the government should step in to discipline the Bar Council because these are the men and women who negotiate the authoritative exercise of the law of the land! Why are they so authoritarian and opaque even to the candidates themselves, leave alone non-contesting members. It's more than fishy here; smells like blur sotong al-juburi!
ReplyDeleteAnything the Bar Council did , should be BERSIH.
ReplyDeleteMana ambiga and all the racist dapigs yg nak bersih?
ReplyDeleteThe crow from all the world are of one colour
ReplyDeleteand one does not need to be a very brilliant guy to become a lawyer, not to mention the relatively short time to become one.
Unlike a doctor, it takes six years to become one and if you need to specialize in any field you need another at least another four years. How often do you hear anyone wishing to become a lawyer as their first choice of career. Just remember it always takes a thief to catch a thief.
In Malaysia it is so easy to become a lawyer and also a doctor, in fact as long as you are of certain skin colour you can become anything you choose. How many people in Malaysia are aware that there are more medical varsities in the country than all of England put together. Producing only doctor quacks and that is the only reason why so many of them are jobless !
Don't speak through your butt, matey.
DeleteCharleskiwi. You comment out of topic. So you be a crow in real life. A quack one at that!
ReplyDeleteA large number of the members of the Malaysian BAR suffer from a serious form of apathy. One wonders out of the 15,926 members how many members actually exercised their right to vote? One's guess is that only a small fraction actually would have cast their votes. The rest must be busy with their cases! The BAR seems to also often come out with press statements about most issues. Is this really within the scope of their role under whatever legislation that governs them.
ReplyDeleteRakyat definition on Bar Council...
ReplyDeletethe most hyprocite lawyer organisation! just another political party...demand others for fair and justice?
Google definition herewith....
a hypocritical person.
"the story tells of respectable Ben who turns out to be a cheat and a hypocrite"
synonyms: sanctimonious person, pietist, whited sepulchre, plaster saint, humbug, pretender, deceiver, dissembler, impostor;
The Malaysian BAR is like the Mafia. The big players sapu all the work from the big government and financial institutions. Got a huge monopoly there. The "ambulance chasers" got monopoly in running down cases - poor clients must share their compensation don't know how many percent with how many people plus lawyer. Conveyancing work also got monopoly - tie up with developer the others got no entry. All these people who sapu are also the loudest advocates for transparency, democracy or what they perceive as lack of it in Malaysia and champion of human rights. But no one can check on them. Got NO ENTRY.
ReplyDelete