The Bar Council refers to the comments by Minister Dato Seri Nazri
regarding the recent Council election, as reported in the New Straits Times of 6
December 2006.
The Minister is of the view that the Bar must get to the bottom of the discovery
of 50 forged ballot papers. The Bar Council absolutely agrees. This is why we
had lodged a police report, to enable the police to thoroughly investigate the
matter. The Bar Council did not keep the matter internal or under wraps.
At present, it is merely assumed by the scrutineers that, because 50 forged
ballots have been detected, there might be others that are forged. This
assumption must be tested, and the facts must be ascertained.
The desire to get to the bottom of things is thus one of the reasons why the Bar
Council has requested the scrutineers to carry out a complete verification
exercise, in order to ascertain or confirm the authenticity of each and every
ballot that was cast (other than the 50 ballots that have already been found to
be forged).
Though time consuming, this verification exercise can be easily carried out
because each ballot issued by the Bar Council bears a stamp of the Council
across the perforated line separating the ballot from its counterfoil. The stamp
is individually placed across this line, so that when the ballot paper is
separated from its counterfoil, a portion of the stamp appears on the
counterfoil and the remainder on the ballot. Therefore a ballot that has been in
fact issued by the Bar Council will bear a portion of the stamp that should
exactly match the remaining portion of the stamp left on the counterfoil.
The usefulness of this exercise is obvious. It is precisely because the Bar
Council vigorously upholds transparency and accountability that it wants to
ascertain the full facts of the matter, and not leave things to mere assumption.
Prudence dictates that it will be premature to make any final decision if the
full facts have yet to be determined.
However, in order to ascertain the full facts, the Bar Council requires the
cooperation of the scrutineers to perform the verification exercise. One of the
scrutineers has agreed to carry out the task, while the remaining two declined
to do so unless directed by a court order. The Bar Council will be meeting on
Friday to discuss and decide on the next course of action.
It is therefore unfair to criticize the Bar Council for any lack of probity or
desire to get to the bottom of things. The contrary is the case.
Neither is there any basis for questioning the integrity and honour of the Bar
as a whole. Sending forged ballots to the Bar secretariat is an act of sabotage.
The Bar is the victim, and not the perpetrator, of the sabotage. Quite
clearly, it is the saboteur (and not the Bar or the Council) who has no honour
or integrity. Any suggestion to the contrary is wholly misguided.
2012 Bar Council Subscription Click the link above to download Circular 072/2012 pertaining to the 2012 Bar Council subscription, including the payment guide and a set of Frequently-Asked-Questions.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. 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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