(May 28): The Bar Council is preparing a show-cause letter ?to Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah for professional misconduct, after he went on a road show to discuss Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction, its president Steven Thiru said.

He said the process had to be completed before the Bar could lodge a complaint against the Umno lawyer with an independent disciplinary board?.

"We are still coming up with the show-cause letter, which we will hand to Shafee once it is completed," ?Steven said during a press conference at the Bar Council headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

"We will only decide on whether to lodge a report against him with the disciplinary board after he replies to the show-caus?e letter."

Steven first mentioned the possibility of referring Shafee at a news conference on March 14, soon after he was elected as the new Bar chairman.

Shafee had filed a defamation suit as well as an injunction to stop lawyers from discussing his conduct at the Malaysian Bar  annual general meeting on March 14.

Steven had previously said the suit was a separate matter.

"We are opposing the injunction. We will also be defending the claim he has brought against us. We deny the allegations of defamation and we will defend the claim to the hilt," he had said.

Today, Steven revealed that although the suit was independent of the disciplinary complaint, the Bar only expected to lodge a report after a court decision is made next month.

"No decision has been made to complain as we have to go through the due process first," he reiterated.

Shafee had obtained the injunction on March 13 to stop lawyers from debating a motion filed by lawyer Tommy Thomas, and seconded by Tan Sri V.C. George, at the AGM.

Thomas and George, two senior members of the Malaysian Bar, had urged the council to take action against Shafee over his conduct, following Anwar's conviction by the Federal Court.

They said that from the time the Federal Court convicted Anwar on February 10, Shafee had behaved in a repugnant and obnoxious manner which brought the legal profession into disrepute.

In their motion submitted for the AGM, the two senior lawyers also urged the incoming council for the 2015-2016 term to lodge a report against Shafee with the board.

They said steps had to be taken to further prevent Shafee from bringing the legal profession into disrepute.

Shafee is said to have violated the Legal Profession (Publicity) Rules 2001 which prohibits lawyers from publicising themselves or their practice in any manner. – The Malaysian Insider