• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

PAS harps on Rohaizat’s disbarment

By Deborah Loh

August 18, 2009

PERMATANG PASIR, 18 Aug 2009: Rohaizat Othman‘s disbarment from legal practice will be a millstone around his neck as he runs for the Permatang Pasir state seat as the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s candidate.

From the start, at the filing of nomination papers yesterday on 17 Aug, most of the 15 objections received by the Election Commission were on the syariah legal adviser’s disbarment on 7 March 2008 by the Bar Council.

Today, PAS extended “pity and sympathies” to Rohaizat, 38, for being made to stand in the by-election at the risk of his political future. PAS, which is contesting to retain this state seat in Permatang Pauh, Penang, has urged Rohaizat to withdraw from the polls.

at a press conference
Mahfuz (left) and PAS candidate Salleh at the
press conference

“As a candidate, he is now exposed to criticisms about his past. He is still young with a long future ahead of him. It is a pity. It is better for him to withdraw and protect his image as he has a long way to go in politics,” PAS by-elections operations director Datuk Mahfuz Omar said today.

Rohaizat, who is also the Permatang Pauh Umno division secretary, took the Bar Council’s decision to the High Court, which dismissed his appeal on 12 Aug 2009.

In a statement today, Malaysian Bar secretary George Varughese said the advocates and solicitors disciplinary board struck Rohaizat off the Roll of Advocates and Solicitors after he was found guilty of misconduct. 

“The disciplinary board’s decision arose from an investigation into the complaint lodged against Rohaizat Othman by the purchaser of a piece of real property.  According to the complaint, Rohaizat failed to refund almost RM161,000 to the complainant after the transaction was aborted,” Varughese said.

Varughese added that the finding of misconduct was personal to Rohaizat, as the disciplinary board would not hold a lawyer liable for the actions of his or her law partners.  

The Bar’s explanation is contrary to Penang Umno liaison chief and party vice-president Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi‘s statement that the offence was committed by Rohaizat’s legal firm partner.

Mahfuz, speaking at a press conference at the PAS by-election headquarters here, said even if that was the case, Rohaizat could not claim ignorance as he was a partner in the firm.

“As a partner, he should know how his own firm is run. If he cannot manage his firm, how to manage a whole constituency?” said Mahfuz.

“Best candidate”

Responding to PAS’s call for Rohaizat to withdraw from the by-election, Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan said “only cowards would suggest such a thing”.

He said Rohaizat was the best candidate for the BN because he was a young working professional, was a local, came from a good family, and had worked hard in Umno since 1996.

Rohaizat and Mohd Salleh Man
Barisan Nasional candidate Rohaizat Othman (left) and Mohd Salleh Man of PAS
greet each other behind face masks (pic courtesy of theSun)

Rohaizat is a graduate of the International Islamic University. In his nomination papers, his occupation is described as a businessperson. He is a syariah legal adviser but has stopped practising law since 2005.

He faces Penang PAS commissioner Mohd Salleh Man, 52, in a straight fight. Polling is on 25 Aug.

Mahfuz today highlighted Salleh’s Islamic credentials to the press, describing him as an “ulama”. The syariah graduate from Universiti Malaya is self-employed. He conducts religious training at surau around the constituency and has served as a mosque official as well as a religious school teacher. He also rose through the ranks of PAS Youth in Penang to become the state commissioner.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that Rohaizat’s disbarment from legal practice was a non-issue because the law still allowed him to stand as an election candidate.

That may be the case, but Rohaizat still faces a credibility issue, and PAS appears prepared to exploit that.

See also:
The Permatang Pasir question

The Nut Graph needs your support

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: News Tagged With: advocate, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Bar Council, BN, by-election, disciplinary, George Varughese, Mahfuz Omar, Mohd Salleh Man, Muhyiddin Yassin, pas, Permatang Pasir, Rohaizat Othman, solicitor, Umno

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. james au says

    August 18, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    BN/Umno has pressed the panic button and is sending out distress signals again! Not only [are] they morally and mentally bankrupt…their talent bank is bankrupt as well. This time, it is […] Rohaizat Othman as the sacrificial goat. Well done, Muhyiddin!

  2. truth says

    August 18, 2009 at 9:55 pm

    Rohaizat still faces a credibility issue. This proves Umno values corruption over all other things.Vote Umno out […].

  3. raguel ss says

    August 19, 2009 at 12:49 am

    So [Rohaizat] is the best that BN can get hold of to contest in [this] by-election. Wonder if he passed his professional ethics [course] in law studies? Why not highlight facts of his misconduct so law students can learn from his mistake? How can [Rohaizat] manage $ allocated for kampung development with [a] shady past, [even if he is a] black sheep painted as a white lamb by his masters. Dahsyat kalau [Rohaizat] menang.

  4. Fatimah Zuhri says

    August 19, 2009 at 7:56 am

    The Bar Council has always been pro-opposition. If any of you have any doubt, just ask Tun Mahathir himself.

    No wonder Tun Mahathir never trusted these “people”. Now I understand what he meant when he told us a long time ago that the Bar Council is just like the Opposition.

    Enough about the Bar Council. I would like to highlight the fact that MANY PEOPLE have yet to realise:

    The Koperasi Pekebun Getah have WITHDRAWN…yes…WITHDRAWN their accusation towards Rohaizat. […]

    There is even an official letter from the koperasi themselves.

    I would like to ask Nik Aziz, how come he can proudly say to all that only PAS members go to heaven when PAS members create such a devastating fitnah? Has he forgotten about what Allah has said about fitnah in the Quran or does PAS have its own Quran now (where we can fitnah everyone who are not PAS members)?

  5. Robert Maidin says

    August 20, 2009 at 2:08 am

    Isu disbarmen Rohaizat kini menjadi senjata Pakatan Rakyat. Perkara ini kalaupun betul berlaku dalam lingkungan profession beliau sebagai ahli di dalam kelompok tersebut dan tidak melibatkan masyarakat umum. Jika keadaan ini menjadi sandaran dan pertimbangan calon, bagaimana pula dengan kredibiliti calon Parlimen Permatang Pauh yang telah menang dengan selesa walaupun dihujani dengan isu-isu moral? Beri fokus kepada kredibiliti calon yang mampu membawa pembangunan yang menyeluruh kepada rakyat itu yang penting. Biar rakyat menilai sendiri. Tunjuk siapa yang ada ketokohan sebagai pemimpin dan agenda perjuangan itu menu yang seharusnya dipaparkan kepada rakyat. Itu macam baru ngam. Lu orang cakap tak mau attack personal? Ini apa cerita?

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2023 The Nut Graph