KULIM-BANDAR Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin, who disappeared after taking part in a
protest against the Bar Council forum on the conversion to Islam on Aug 9, made
a surprise appearance at Parliament yesterday.
He was, however, evasive about his 10-day disappearance.
Speculation has been rife that he was detained under the Internal Security Act.
The PKR MP said he was away on “personal matters” after Aug 9, pointing out that
he had protested in his capacity as Persatuan Peguam Pembela Islam exco member
and not an MP.
“At no time was I there in my capacity as MP, and so, I did not have to inform
the party,” Zulkifli told reporters.
Zulkifli also denied barging into the forum, saying he was invited by Bar
Council secretary Lim Chee Wee to witness the forum being called off.
On whether he was arrested after the incident, Zulkifli only replied: “I don’t
know. I was on my own. I was detained in 1999.”
Asked why he took so long to “come out”, Zulkifli said: “I have my own personal
things to attend. What is so urgent for me to explain? I don’t understand what
the fuss is all about.”
He also said that he had yet to receive any show-cause letter from the party,
saying he had explained to PKR whip Azmin Ali and the latter accepted his
explanation.
“For me, it is Islam first, law second. It is also Islam first, PKR second. We
Muslims also have rights and we have been tolerant enough. I will take the lead
to speak for the Muslims. I am all for dialogue but the forum should have been
held behind closed doors,” Zulkifli said.
Lim said the council had invited the four leaders of the demonstrating groups
into the auditorium to watch the closing of the controversial forum under
duress.
“Firstly, some of the demonstrators, including Zulkifli, threatened to storm
into the auditorium if we did not call it off by 10am. When we were advised by
the police to do so, we agreed,” he said.
Lim said Zulkifli and three representatives insisted they come up and confirm
that the forum was truly closed.
“Under the circumstances, we had no choice but to invite them up,” he said when
contacted.
However, instead of behaving like invitees, Lim said they were aggressive,
refused to sit down, stood in the centre aisle, glared at the panel speakers and
interrupted activist Dr Mehrun Siraj who was speaking from the floor on the
importance of discussion on conflict issues.
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Seminar on an Introduction to the Industrial Relations Act (23 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 23 May 2012 (Wednesday). The seminar will be conducted by Wong Keat Ching. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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Circular No 106/2012: Accountant’s Report 2011
