The Sabah Law Society (SLS), which hosted the event in Kota Kinabalu last night, said there was nothing to suggest impropriety over their conduct.

It said the event was a tradition that goes back to 2001, and showed the “hallmark of a mature legal community”.

“It is therefore very disappointing that certain groups are attempting to politicise what is essentially a social and harmonious occasion reflective of our East Malaysian hospitality,” SLS president Brenndon Soh said in a statement.

Several leaders from both sides of the political divide have criticised the conduct of Chief Justice Richard Malanjum and Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, who were seen in a clip dancing to the tune of “Let’s Twist Again”, together with de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong and several lawyers.

PKR’s Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said members of the judiciary and politicians must be mindful about their conduct in public as it could affect their integrity, while Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin recalled criticism hurled at former AG Mohamed Apandi Ali for dancing with ministers in 2016.

SLS said members of the legal community should not be constrained from dancing at social occasions, adding that their integrity was not affected by doing the twist.

“The only real ‘twist’ is that of the facts and we have faith that our society is similarly mature enough to recognise that the individuals in the video are able to separate their professional life from the personal,” he said.