A Sabah lawyer has filed a law suit against Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan over his allegedly 'disparaging remarks'.

Marcel Jude M S Joseph, a member of the Sabah Law Association, claims that the commissioner's statements have damaged his reputation and that of other legal practitioners in the state.

In a statement of claim filed with the Kota Kinabalu magistrate's court yesterday, the lawyer said Hamdan's remarks were 'calculated to disparage the plaintiff and other legal practitioners in Sabah in their trade and practice of advocates and solicitors in Sabah'.

"Further the statements of the defendant (Hamdan) were made with malice with the intention to encourage hatred and contempt of the plaintiff and legal practitioners in Sabah," he added. A copy of the documents were made available to malaysiakini today.

On Nov 13, Hamdan was quoted by the Sabah-based Daily Express as saying that 'Suhakam is concerned over the number of lawyers taking up groundless cases'.

He added: "We are concerned with lawyers taking up cases when they know there is no case."

He also said that lawyers open up a file which cost them only 80 sen but the client is charged between RM500 and RM700.

On Dec 9, he told the New Straits Times that those with problems relating to land applications and bank loans should seek clarification from the authorities concerned instead of consulting lawyers.

Legal shield

Commenting on the legal suit against him, Hamdan said the Suhakam Act 1999 stipulates that he cannot be sued for executing his duties as a commissioner.

Section 18 (1) of the Act states that no action, suit, prosecution or proceeding shall be instituted against the commissioners or members of the commission when they carry out their functions.

"He (Joseph) is a lawyer. He should have checked the law before filing a suit against me," said the commissioner when contacted today.

As an example, Hamdan cited the lawsuit filed by victims of the Kampung Medan clashes in 2002 against Suhakam for failing to probe the incident. The case was struck off by the High Court.

Not intimidated

The commissioner, who has yet to receive any official notification of the suit, said that he is not intimidated by such things as he is merely carrying out his duties.

"When I was at Fomca (Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association), I was not protected by the law, but I did my job," said the former Fomca president.

"The most important thing I did not have malice against anybody when I made the statement. I just want to inform people to be careful of the black sheep in the profession," he added.

An official at with Suhakam's legal division said they will instruct their lawyer to take action once they receive the legal letter.