Lawyers have chosen a diverse group of representatives in the Bar Council election for the 2025-2026 term, despite efforts by various teams to secure seats for their members.
The results, announced yesterday morning, saw 10 of the 16 incumbents re-elected, resulting in a racially inclusive council. This outcome follows concerns about an alleged campaign by an NGO to promote 15 Malay candidates and one Chinese candidate.
A total of 42 candidates contested the election, which saw a record-breaking voter turnout. Of the 24,262 ballots issued, 6,173 were returned, representing a 28% participation rate in the month-long voting process that concluded on Saturday.
In past elections, the average number of ballots returned was approximately 5,000. The Progressive Team, which campaigned for a self-funded lawyers’ indemnity insurance scheme to reduce premiums, managed to have only three of its members elected.
The top three candidates in the election were Azmi Ali, a senior lawyer from a prominent firm, Gregory Das, and V Kokila Vaani, a former Selangor Bar chairperson. All three are currently serving in the 2024-2025 term. Other incumbents who were re-elected include Abhilaash Subramaniam, Collin Arvind Andrew, Farez Ali Jinnah, Kee Hui Yee, Larissa Ann Louis, Peter-Douglas Ling, and Yasmeen Mohd Shariff.
The newly elected members are Murshidah Mustafa, S Vivekananda, Abang Iwawan Narawi, S Anishaa, S Ravi Chandran, and Fariz Irwan Mustafa.
The 16 elected members will be joined by the immediate past president and vice-president of the Malaysian Bar, as well as the chairpersons of the 12 state bar committees in Peninsular Malaysia. Later, each state bar will elect a second representative, forming the full 42-member Bar Council.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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