There was no quorum but the Bar Council annual general meeting today went ahead.

As expected, this unprecedented move met with objections from some members present. The group left the meeting after the council members decided to proceed with it.

Section 67 of the Legal Profession Act 1976 states that the Bar must secure the attendance of at least one-fifth of its members to hold any general meeting.

In the past, the annual general meetings were cancelled due to lack of quorum. The Bar had continuously requested for the amendment of the law but was rejected by the government.

Currently, there are 11,725 members which means the Bar needs 2,345 members to hold a general meeting. Only about 1100 lawyers turned up today.

Former Bar Council president R R Chelvarajah who stayed away from the meeting said "a lot of members were annoyed and dissatisfied today" when the meeting proceeded without the required quorum.

Chelvarajah, also a current council member, said he was not aware of the decision by the council earlier that the meeting will be held even without the quorum as he was abroad.

"I am in the council so I can't say anything. There must be collective responsibility, even though it's wrong and illogical," he said outside the hall, adding that he did not register to attend the meeting.

New interpretations

Another senior lawyer Param Cumaraswamy also expressed his disappointment over the meeting.

"I disagree with holding the meeting. For the past 27 years, we have stood by the legal provisions for the AGM. Why is it that today certain lawyers can come up with new interpretations for the Bar?" he asked..

Param who left the meeting after it started said the Bar should obtain a new interpretation from the court before making the decision to carry on with the AGM without the required quorum.

However, he said he would not challenge the legality of the AGM but "somebody else may do it"

Meanwhile, newly elected Bar Council president Yeo Yang Poh explained that the council had decided last May that, unlike extraordinary general meetings (EGM), the AGM does not require a quorum for the meeting to proceed.

"It's not unusual for legal issues to be revisited. This is done by lawyers and judges all the time. So it is nothing unusual," he told reporters after the meeting.

On the dissatisfaction expressed by some members, Yeo said that different lawyers would have their own views.

"As far as the Bar Council is concerned, a decision was taken and ruled on for the meeting to proceed," he said, adding that the Bar will respect the decision of anyone wishing to take the matter to court.

"No problem. This may be the best way to test the case," he said.

Others in the Bar Council 2005/06 line-up included Ambiga Sreenevasan as vice president, Ragunath Kesavan as secretary and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera as treasurer.