All but two state Bar committees have decided to 'wait and see' before deciding on and if action should be taken against Malaysian Bar president Mah Weng Kwai for his controversial remarks on ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's appeal case.

The Kuala Lumpur Bar committee convened an emergency meeting late last Saturday to demand for Mah's resignation over his statements. Letters were sent to all 5,500 members in the city.

The Pahang Bar committee chairperson Ong Siew Wan said it was a non-issue because "as far as Pahang members are concerned, Mah's remarks were personal".

The other committees, when contacted, indicated that they do not plan to raise the issue unless their members demand for it. The committees are also waiting for an update by the Bar Council.

The officials of several state Bar committees were curt when asked about their stand while the rest pleaded ignorance and indifference towards the criticisms pertaining to Mah's remarks since July 10.

Most offered "no comment" as their reply. The rest were an assortment of "our policy is not to get involved in any controversy", "we leave it to the parties to resolve it themselves", "why don't you ask the lawyers themselves if you want to know what they think about this matter?" and "we don't know what actually happened, so we prefer not to say anything".

Mah, serving his second term as Bar president, incurred the wrath of members with his comments in a telephone interview with malaysiakini following the Federal Court decision to uphold Anwar's conviction on July 10.

In the interview, he expressed confidence that the Federal Court "would have set aside Anwar's conviction if it had found any improprieties in the proceedings of the lower courts".

He believed that Anwar's trial had gone through the "due process of law" and that the decision should be respected by all. He suggested that those who disagreed with the decision to use the ballot box to show their discontent.

Severe criticisms

Mah was severely criticised by Anwar's lawyers, many Malaysian Bar members as well as opposition parties for his remarks.

He subsequently issued a second statement to reflect the Bar Council's 1999 stand revealed by the then chairperson RR Chelvarajah who recorded the Bar's dissatisfaction over the "unusual manner in which the trial itself was conducted".

The 1999 statement was issued following a High Court decision on Anwar's case. Mah was then the vice-chairperson.

Mah also wrote a letter to explain that his remarks were his personal views and not intended to convey the position of the Bar.

Thus far, the Pahang Bar Committee is the only one to have accepted Mah's explanation contained in the statement issued by the Bar Council on July 16, six days after his initial response.

"He said his earlier statement was personal and that the second one with a different view is the official stand of the Bar Council.

"We are not involved in the call for his resignation," Pahang's Ong told malaysiakini when contacted today.

The Kelantan Bar committee is expected to discuss the matter at its regular monthly meeting tomorrow.