A three-quarter page advertisement was taken in English daily The Sun today by a group of professionals and organisations, expressing support for suspended Bank Islam chief economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin.

“Unprofessional and unfair,” reads the advertisement, decrying the bank’s arbitrary suspension of Azrul last month, following his presentation in Singapore which included a prediction of a narrow Pakatan Rakyat victory the coming 13th general election.

NONE The advertisement, on page 11 of the English daily, listed the names of 135 professionals, politicians, academics and 59 organisations which declared solidarity with the chief economist.

Some of the NGOs include clean and fair electoral pressure group Bersih, press freedom advocates Center for Independent Journalism, as well as human rights groups Proham and Tenaganita.

Meanwhile the individuals listed include Professor Abdul Rahman Embong of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya’s Professor Edmund Terence Gomez, Professor Norani Othman of Muslim women’s rights champion Sisters in Islam dan Fadiah Nadwa Fikri of human rights group Suaram.

The bank had denied any political interference in the move, claiming Azrul’s suspension was due to him “contravening internal bank policies" and nothing to do with his personal political beliefs.

It also lodged a police report against Azrul for allegedly holding and distributing confidential company documents without permission.

However, Azrul and his supporters are alleging that it was his prediction of a Pakatan win that got him the suspension.