your say ‘This has to be taken very seriously because very few lawyers are struck off. The case has to be very strong for the Bar Council to mete out such a strong punishment.’

On 'Tainted candidate should not contest'

Panir Selvam: Umno candidate Rohaizat Othman has been struck off the rolls for being dishonest with his client's money. This has to be taken very seriously because very few lawyers are struck off. The case has to be very strong for the Bar Council to mete out such a strong punishment.

And to think that the party bigwigs tried to push the blame for the strike off to his former partner - how low can you go? Kudos to the Bar Council for the clarification .

Lim Chong Leong: Rohaizat has been found guilty of misconduct. He failed to return RM160,000 to his client. That is criminal breach of trust.

What is Ahmad Zahid Hamidi talking about when he said Rohaizat is probably innocent legally? Where is the police investigation? Why is Ahmad Zahid trying to lie to the public by blaming Rohaizat's partners in the law firm? What is Ahmad Zahid saying that this is only a public perception? Isn't public perception very important?

Chee Hoe Siew: Ahmad Zahid's comment on its candidate gives us a very clear indication of BN's mentality. Even when the Bar Council revoked Rohaizat's licence and his appeal was subsequently thrown out by court, he has done no wrong in taking his client's money. Same goes with any BN's components, money taken into their coffers are legal. It is no wonder that MACC never bother to investigate a single corruption case on BN and rather focus on Pakatan.

Charles Chia: Zahid Hamidi says it is Umno right to choose any candidate they like. From this very statement we can clearly see how immoral along Umno is. Chosing someone of questionable character to be the wakil rakyat claimed he is a good son just because he bring along his parent and wife to the nomination centre.

Ahmad Zahid, your conscience must be warped... Your candidate himself is the one who refuses to return RM161,000 upon the failed transaction, not his partner, and he was stripped of his legal practice for misconduct. And how on earth could Ahmad Zahid justified choosing such a questionable character?

AM Ayob: Zahid Hamidi said he also could find fault with the Pakatan Rakyat candidate, in that the latter had never won any election in his previous attempts! Can you imagine that? To lose elections is such a crime in Zahid Hamidi's schema, as if he is equating the 'crime' to that of the one committed by the BN candidate!

Yes, true he was not convicted in court for his 'moral lapse' but that should be enough ground not to contest an election. But no, for BN it is the right thing to do. Why? Because they have no other more credible sacrificial lamb!

Mei: First it was his partner's misconduct, and when it was confirmed by the Bar Council that it was actually his own, Zahid Hamidi said it doesn't affect Rohaizat's eligibility to contest, going so far as to say he is "probably" innocent.

What is Zahid Hamidi trying to imply? Choosing a person who would represent your needs and aspirations is not all about eligibility under the law. It is about the kind of person you can trust to look after your interests. If he has been found to be of unworthy of trust, would you still trust him in such big matters as your future? As they say, past behaviour predicts future performance...

I am frankly so appalled at the quality of argument that our lawmakers put up that I cringe in embarrassment and tremble with fear that someone might actually look over my shoulder and accidentally read it and think what a stupid lot of people we are.

Surely Zahid, you can come up with a better argument than equating fact that he brought his parents along to nomination day to his being a good person? I, too, am a parent and my children too have disappointed me but do I give up on them? No, I chastise, I counsel, I lead, I forgive, I support, I pray, and most of all, I hope, for repentance from them.

Having his family with him only means that they are loving him unconditionally because he is their son but he is not ours. We don't owe him the same unconditional love and trust. That the PAS candidate has never won a general election despite several attempts has nothing absolutely do to with Rohaizat's questionable integrity and conduct.

TC Koh:

The laws of Bolehland - according to the Malaysian Bar website, he was disbarred on March 7 last year. This means that he cannot practise as a lawyer or appear before a court, but he is allowed practise syariah law. This must be the wow factor that Muhyiddin Yassin was talkng about.

Tan Teng Wah: If the statement by the Bar Council is not true, the guy should go ahead to sue for defamation. Otherwise, let the voters, not Umno, judge you.

Malaysian for Malaysia: Rohaizat must be the 'cleanest' candidate Umno can find for this by election. That probably speaks volumes about the rest of Umno. Claiming that he is innocent and such is ridiculous. The Bar Council is professional body set up to regulate lawyers and to ensure they adhere to their professional ethics and legal requirements.

Criticising the Bar Council's decision is tantamount to insulting the entire legal profession and calling their judgement into meting out punishment to errant lawyers erroneous. The Bar Council should respond to such unwarranted insults by politicians.

Takung: Incredible. Is Umno/BN so short of talent that they have to select a candidate with known baggage? Now to see if an even more incredible thing can happen, he gets voted.

Eddy: If Pakatan Rakyat leaders wants to make an issue out of this then they should look no further but their own doorsteps: Anwar Ibrahim is an ex-ccnvict sentenced for abuse of power when he was deputy prime minister. He got re-elected as Permatang Pauh MP.

Lim Guan Eng is an ex-convict sentenced for sedition. He won a Penang seat and was duly appointed as chief minister. So if ex-convicts who committed crimes under the Malaysian Penal Code can represent Pakatan in Parliament and state assemblies, what's the beef? This is typical of Pakatan’s double standard and different set of moral values.

Umno, rightly or wrongly, choose the candidate and they sure as hell have to work harder now to defend him.

A selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers.