In the results announced early this morning, 10 of the 16 incumbents were returned, forming a racially diverse group despite concerns over a purported NGO’s push for 15 Malay candidates and one Chinese.

A total of 42 candidates had run for election.

A record number of votes was cast, with 6,173 of 24,262 ballots returned – equivalent to a 28% participation rate in the month-long voting process which ended on Saturday.

The average number of ballots returned was previously around 5,000.

A group known as the Progressive Team, which had pushed for a self-funding lawyers’ indemnity insurance scheme to lower premiums, managed to get five of its members voted in.

The top three winners were Azmi Ali, a senior lawyer from a leading firm, Gregory Das, and V Kokila Vaani, a former Selangor Bar head. All three are serving in the current 2024-2025 term.

Other incumbents returned were Abhilaash Subramaniam, Collin Arvind Andrew, Farez Ali Jinnah, Kee Hui Yee, Larissa Ann Louis, Peter-Douglas Ling, Murshidah Mustafa and Yasmeen Mohd Shariff.

The new faces voted in were S Vivekananda, Abang Iwawan Narawi, S Anishaa, S Ravi Chandran, and Fariz Irwan Mustafa.

The 16 elected members will join the immediate past president and vice-president of the Malaysian Bar and the chairmen of twelve state bar committees in Peninsular Malaysia.

Each state bar will later elect a second member to represent them on the 42-member Bar Council.