Malaysian Bar approves motion for A-G's removal

President of the Malaysian Bar, Steven Thiru (center) during 70th Annual General Meeting of the Malaysian Bar at Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar has passed a motion calling for Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali to resign from his post as Attorney-General.

The motion was passed during the Bar's annual general assembly which saw some 1,400 plus lawyers attend.

The Star was able to confirm with several lawyers who attended the assembly, who said the motion was passed with minimal objection.

Three lawyers – Charles Hector, Francis Pereira and Shanmugam Ramasamy – had proposed the motion to debate the call for Apandi to resign.

They also called on the Solicitor-General to take on the role of Public Prosecutor in the corruption investigations involving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, 1Malaysia Development Bhd, SRC International Sdn Bhd and the RM2.6bil political donation in Najib's bank account.

The motion had drawn flak from both sides of the political divide - from Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to DAP assemblyman and lawyer R.S.N. Rayer.

A proposal requiring young lawyers to take professional development courses or risk being fined was also passed, though with a much closer call.

Several lawyers confirmed that the motion was passed with just one vote in favour: 295 for, 294 against, and 12 abstaining.

This meant that it would be mandatory for lawyers with less that five years in practice to collect 16 Continued Professional Development (CPD) points within the next two years or face fines of up to RM500.