The keenly contested Bar Council elections

COMMENT | Those outside the legal fraternity may not be aware, but the month of November is when lawyers are given the opportunity to vote for the 12 members of their Bar Council.

For the uninitiated, all practising advocates and solicitors are members of the Malaysian Bar. The Malaysian Bar is a statutory body created by the Legal Profession Act, with specific object and mandate given by Parliament.

The Bar Council, meanwhile, comprises 38 members to manage the affairs and execute the functions of the Malaysian Bar.

Besides the 12 members elected from throughout Peninsular Malaysia by way of postal ballot, the Council also comprises the immediate past president and vice-president of the Malaysian Bar, the chairman of each of the 12 State Bar Committees, and 1 member elected by each of the said 12 State Bar Committees to be its representative in the Bar Council.

The term of office of a Bar Council member is one year...