00:00The Kuala Lumpur High Court has awarded lawyer Shafi'i Abdullah
00:05RM340,000 in damages against the Malaysian Bar
00:09four years after it was found liable for a breach of its statutory duty.
00:15Justice Ahmad Shafir Saleh awarded RM200,000 for reputational damages and injury to feelings,
00:22RM100,000 for loss of professional work opportunity,
00:25RM20,000 for mental stress and hurt,
00:28and RM20,000 as aggravated damages.
00:32In 2015, Shafi'i spoke at a roadshow to discuss the federal court's judgment in Anwar Ibrahim's second sodomy case.
00:40Lawyers Tommy Thomas and V.C. George then tabled a motion for debate at the bar's annual general meeting
00:46in which they claimed Shafi'i had violated a rule prohibiting lawyers from seeking publicity for themselves.
00:54Shafi'i's suit was initially dismissed by the High Court in 2016.
00:58The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2018.
01:02However, a three-member federal court bench chaired by Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli allowed Shafi'i's appeal in 2021.
01:10The Apex Court said the bar had no authority to discuss the conduct of individual lawyers at an AGM
01:16as such matters come under the purview of the disciplinary board.
Comments