KUALA LUMPUR: Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has obtained a fresh injunction to prevent any discussion on his conduct during roadshows following the conviction of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy last month.

His lawyer Datuk Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin said the injunction was a fresh order as the earlier 21-day restraining order would expire on Friday.

“The court has granted an ad-interim injunction pending the disposal of an inter-parte hearing,” he told reporters after emerging from the chambers of High Court Judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad.

The court has fixed May 13 to hear the ex-parte hearing to set aside Shafee’s injunction.

Kamarul said the fresh order was to preserve his client’s action against the four defendants: The Malaysian Bar, former Bar Council president Christopher Leong, and lawyers Tommy Thomas and Tan Sri VC George.

Shafee filed a suit for defamation as well as the injunction to restrain the four from discussing his conduct at the Malaysian Bar annual general meeting on March 14.

He also obtained the 21-day ex-parte injunction on March 13 to stop lawyers from debating a motion filed by Thomas and seconded by George at the AGM.

Kamarul said a hearing to set aside Shafee’s injunction was deferred to May 13 as the defendants needed time to reply to the affidavit filed by his client.

Leong and the Bar are represented by Lambert Rasa-Ratnam, while Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan will appear for Thomas and Porres Royen for George.

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 Feb 10, Shafee had behaved in a repugnant and obnoxious manner which brought the legal profession into disrepute.

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

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 1, 2015.