KUALA LUMPUR: A lawyer, the Malaysian Bar and Bar Council yesterday failed to reach an out-of-court settlement over a suit challenging the legality of a notice issued by the Bar for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
On May 16, last year, Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz filed the suit against the two bodies, seeking among others, to declare that the notice issued by the defendants on May 4 to call for the EGM was illegal and breached the Legal Profession Act
1976.
His counsel, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, told reporters that the plaintiff had been discussing the matter with the defendants over the past two weeks but no agreement was reached between them. Therefore, he said, High Court judge Datuk John Louis O’Hara set April 17 to hear the Malaysian Bar and Bar Council’s application to strike out the suit.
The judge fixed the date in chambers after meeting Abdul Aziz and S Navindran who appeared for the defendants.
Mohd Khairul Azam, who is a member of the Malaysian Bar and Bar Council, in his statement of claim said the notice to call the EGM was issued less than seven days from May 11, and that the motion discussed at the EGM contravened the Sedition Act as it pertained to a matter which was beyond the jurisdiction of the defendants.
The EGM passed a motion, 939 votes to 16, demanding an apology from the inspector-general of police and Home Ministry for alleged use of force against demonstrators and reporters during the Bersih 3.0 assembly in Kuala Lumpur on April 28. — Bernama