The split among lawyers following the contentious jailing of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy looks set to spill over at the Malaysian Bar's annual general assembly (AGM) this Saturday.

This comes as factions in the Bar - whether unhappy about a statement by Bar Council president Christopher Leong ( below ) or about the conduct of veteran lawyer Shafee Abdullah - will slug it out with their respective motions at the AGM.

A group of lawyers dubbed G100 are upset that Leong had described Anwar's jailing as a "persecution".

Taking the charge, G100 representative Faidhur Rahman Abdul Hadi, seconded by Aidil Khalid, has moved a motion to demand that Leong retract the statement and apologise.

Another group of lawyers are angry at the conduct of Shafee following Anwar's jailing.

After securing a conviction against Anwar, the lawyer went on a roadshow and made lewd claims about the PKR de-facto leader, such as him pinching complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's nipples.

Motion on Shafee’s conduct

Veteran lawyer Tommy Thomas, seconded by former Court of Appeal Judge VC George, has moved a motion to discuss Shafee's conduct.

Shafee ( right ) was engaged by the Attorney-General Chambers to lead the prosecution team, and he successfully secured a conviction against Anwar for sodomy.

Anwar was jailed for five years on Feb 10, a charge he claims is politically motivated.

The fireworks will not only be confined on the issue of Anwar as sparks are also expected to fly over the Sedition Act.

The G100 moved another motion for the Bar to revoke a resolution passed last year demanding the government do away with the British colonial-era law.

The resolution came from Faidhur Rahman, and was seconded by Nurrul Nadia Norrizan.

In contrast, Ambiga Sreenevasan ( left ), seconded by Ragunath Kesavan - both former Bar Council presidents - brought forward a motion to condemn the intensified use of the Sedition Act by the government.

The G100 has also proposed a third motion, calling for transparency in the Bar Council election.

The Bar Council is expected to elect a new chief on Saturday as Leong's term comes to an end.