He told the High Court today that the Federal Court had in 2021 held the Bar was liable for the manner in which they handled a motion to discuss his conduct as ad hoc prosecutor in Anwar Ibrahim’s “Sodomy 2” appeals.
“The Bar’s action had caused disgrace and humiliation to me.
“My case was put before a public forum when it should have been dealt with privately before the disciplinary board,” Shafee said during a hearing for the assessment of damages due to him in his lawsuit against the body of practicing lawyers.
In 2015, lawyers Tommy Thomas and VC George filed a motion to condemn Shafee’s conduct “in the strongest term” before lodging a complaint to the Bar’s disciplinary board.
Thomas and George claimed Shafee had violated the legal profession’s rules which prohibit lawyers from seeking publicity for themselves.
The motion was tabled after Shafee attended and spoke at a “roadshow” to discuss a Federal Court judgment which saw Anwar sentenced to five years in prison for sodomy.
Anwar subsequently received a royal pardon shortly after Pakatan Harapan came into power in 2018. He presently holds the office of prime minister.
Shafee’s suit was initially dismissed by the High Court in 2016. The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2018.
However the Federal Court allowed Shafee’s appeal in 2021, and ordered the lower court to conduct an assessment of damages.
Shafee also said the civil action had affected his income. He said he had lost the opportunity to represent various clients in their cases because of the time he spent fighting his own case.
“The fact is that my litigation against the Bar has caused many inroads into my day-to-day workload.
“Clients have taken note through the media and word of mouth about this motion,” Shafee said.
In reply to a question from the Bar’s lawyer Andrew Chiew, Shafee admitted that he took on several high-profile cases during the six-year period between the time the case was filed and its final appeal.
These include former prime minister Najib Razak’s SRC International and 1MDB cases, Khir Toyo’s bungalow corruption case and the murder charge faced by Samirah Muzaffar.
“Do you agree with me that your tax return forms from 2015 would be the best evidence to show that you suffered losses?” asked Chiew.
In response, Shafee said it was not necessary for him to produce his tax return forms.
Shafee said the Bar had no right to accept a motion for debate if its contents were seditious or contemptuous.
“Two former presidents (Ambiga Sreenevasan and Ragunath Kesavan) had advised the Bar two years earlier that they cannot ‘discipline’ a member at an AGM,” said Shafee.
He also told the court that the complaint regarding his conduct after the “Sodomy 2” case is still pending before the disciplinary board.
Former Bar president Chris Leong is expected to testify when the hearing continues on Tuesday before Justice Ahmad Shahrir Salleh.