I refer to the Malaysiakini report Haidar refuses to disqualify himself.

I am disappointed to read the Bar Council’s stand in not supporting lawyer Karpal Singh’s application to disqualify the chairperson of the Lingam Tape royal commission of inquiry. Is the Bar telling the Malaysian public that the points raised by Karpal were all nonsense and devoid of merit?

The Bar Council is now sending a message to the Malaysian public that there are no conflicts of interest involving Haidar Mohd Noor and Ahmad Fairuz.

The chairperson of the Bar Council has heard how Haidar openly admitted that Ahmad Fairuz brother’s had married his sister. Ahmad Fairuz’s brother may have passed away 30 years ago but does that mean his (Ahmad Fairuz’s) relationship with Haidar ended 30 years ago?

And is that what commission member Mahadev Shangker is trying to suggest to the Malaysian public? That the child of that marriage is not Haidar’s niece as their relationship automatically ended when the child’s father passed away?

Mahadev, in a condescending manner, stated that the lawyers do not seem to understand the ruling Haidar made that he would not recuse himself. I regret to say that Mahadev himself does not seem to understand that the likelihood of bias is enough for Haidar to recuse himself.

That this is not seen by the Bar Council is surprising and to further suggest that Karpal’s disclosure of the ‘common niece’ is not good enough to call for a disqualification is, to say the least, shameful.