KUALA LUMPUR – Prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah failed to win a spot in the Bar Council for its 2024/2025 term in the elections held yesterday.
Best known as the defence lawyer of jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Shafee won only 1,251 votes, coming in 22nd out of 39 candidates, thus failing to enter the top 16 who have been elected as council members.
Fahri Azzat, known for taking on freedom of religion cases, won the most votes in the election, with 2,499, followed by Bar Association secretary Anand Raj with 2,413 votes, while human rights lawyer New Sin Yew polled 2,301 votes.
Other candidates elected to the council include Gregory Das, the son of former Bar President Cyrus Das, and Datuk Azmi Ali, a senior partner at one of the country’s largest law firms.
Four women were also elected to the council, including the former chair of the Selangor Bar Council, V. Kokila Vaani, and Bar treasurer Murshidah Mustafa.
The full list of the candidates and newly elected 16-member council are on the Malaysian Bar website.
Elections for a new Bar president to replace Karen Cheah, who has served the maximum two terms, and a new secretary and treasurer will be held in March at the Bar’s annual general meeting. – December 2, 2023