KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — Prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has lost his bid to rejoin the Bar Council after a 15-year absence, coming in 22nd in the election for 16 office holders for the 2024/25 term.
Muhammad Shafee, whose high-profile clients include former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, received 1,251 votes overall, which was 214 fewer than Abhilaash Subramaniam (Abhi Subramaniam), the 16th person to get onto the Council.
There were 39 candidates vying this year’s election, the highest number of candidates in the history of the legal body.
Muhammad Shafee previously served as a Bar Council member for two terms (2007-2008; 2008-2009). He last contested Council elections for the 2009-2010 term as an incumbent but failed to get re-elected.
Out of the 16 elected, 12 are incumbents.
Fahri Azzat topped the list with 2,449 votes; followed by Anand Raj l R. Balasupramaniam with 2,413; New Sin Yew with 2,301; Kokila Vaani Vadiveloo with 2,239; Larissa Ann Louis with 2,135; Azmi Mohd Ali with 2,099; Peter-Douglas Ling with 2,091; Sarah Yong Li Hsien with 2,081; Tunku Farik Tunku Ismail with 1,982; Gregory Vinesh Das with 1,942; Kee Hui Yee with 1,918; Murshidah Mustafa with 1,712; Collin Arvind Andrew with 1,685; Datuk Yasmeen Mohd Shariff with 1,598; and Farez Mohd Ali Jinnah with 1,473.
According to a circular from Bar Council secretary Anand Raj, the total number of ballots issued were 23,281 while the number of ballots returned were 5,282, which included 39 from ineligible members and 21 that were spoiled.
The Malaysian Bar is a professional body that regulates the profession of lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia, with 21,570 registered practitioners to date.
The Bar Council comprises 42 members who are elected annually to manage the affairs and execute the functions of the Malaysian Bar.
The 42-member Bar Council includes the 16 members elected throughout Peninsular Malaysia through postal ballot, the Malaysian Bar’s immediate past president and immediate vice-president of the Malaysian Bar, the chairman of each of the 12 State Bar Committees and one member elected by each of the 12 State Bar Committees to be its representative to the Bar Council.
