Sunday, June 23, 2019

Protection provided journalists,whistle blowers and sources by Carlovers v Sahathevan ,Bond v Barry undermined-Courts must not have power to determine how journalists should conduct their investigations


by Ganesh Sahathevan



It has been previously written  that the 
protection provided journalists,whistle blowers and their sources by Carlovers v Sahathevan and Bond v Barry has been undermined by the Legal Profession Admission Board NSW (LPAB) , a judicial body overseen by the Chief Justice NSW, and the  AG NSW Mark Speakman.


In re-writing the facts of the Carlovers decision (see story below) the LPAB determined that the Carlovers decision was in fact decided on the basis that Sahathevan had harassed, threatened and intimidated the company and its directors. The LPAB did so despite Levine J rejecting arguments from Carlovers on that point (see reporting by Ben Hills below, which includes references to submissions from counsel).


The LPAB has used its particular interpretation of the Carlovers decision to justify its reliance on the decision of the Malaysian Industrial Court in 
Sun Media Group Sdn Bhd v. Ganesh Sahathevan [Case No: 2(12)(2)/4-588/98] despite the problems with that decision to which it had been alerted. 


The LPAB then went on to determine that this writer's queries put to the College Of Law (which the College acknowledged were the queries of a journalist) and the Attorney General NSW Mark Speakman SC were threatening and intimidatory;  it then  relied on the Carlovers and Sun Media decisions to prove  that this writer has a history of that sort of behaviour.

Quite apart from the worrying and irregular re-writing of the facts of the Carlovers  judgement there is the concern that judges in NSW may now  determine defamation matters in which journalists are defendants  based on their perception of whether the journalists acted in accordance with what they determine to be acceptable behaviour.  
Questions from journalists, especially from  those of us involved in investigative work, are more likely than not to be perceived as threating and intimidatory.  While lawyers and judges are entitled to perceive  the conduct of journalists unacceptable by the norms of  their profession, the converse is likely to be true of journalists with regards the methods used by lawyers and judges. However, it is only judges and lawyers who can through the judicial system enforce their worldview on all others, including journalists.

Stating the above is to state the obvious but it does appear that lawyers and judges seem intent on imposing their worldview on journalists (and others) and seek to do so even outside the courtroom.


Two examples are provided by way of example.

First,  in 2014 the AFR reported, quoting the Chief Justice Thomas Bathurst QC AC:

They hear about counselling services for unemployed youths and people with drug problems, and meet lawyers from the community. Among the more pervasive concerns relayed to the judges this year was the demonisation by parts of the press.
"They start to feel more and more isolated and misunderstood," said chief justice Bathurst.
"But the community generally appreciates the courts will treat them just like anyone else."
While His Honour's work as one of Australia's best commercial silks is undisputed, his is not a name that one encounters in the  works of those of us who have spent many years researching and writing about jihadism
Comments such as the above cast doubt on  the work of journalists, researchers and information providers specialized in the area, and  can be used by those under investigation  to deflect queries on matters that they are determined to keep hidden from public view. 

The second example is that of the public condemnation by members of the Bar of a recent judgement by Mr Justice Desmond Fagan. The incident, and the harm it caused to the judiciary and to terrorism research, particularly jihadism, has been described here:

 

Judges,senior lawyers present at Muslim service where Justice Desmond Fagan’s decision in R v Bayda, R v Namoa (No 8) was undermined

 

The comments by Mr Arthur Moses SC not only undermined a judgement of the Court of which he is an officer, it has also caused harm to the public debate on the issue of jihadism which is  vital to research particularly in the area of passive support of  jihadis.

 

These public statements outside of court and the conduct of the LPAB give rise to the perception that judges, assisted by like-minded lawyers intend not only to impede the freedom of speech but also the methods of inquiry that underlie the public’s right to know.
The law of defamation provides sufficient avenues for judges to determine if publications are made with  malicious intent; it is unnecessary and unwise for the law to be broadened to allow judges to determine how journalists should conduct themselves in the course of their investigations. As illustrated above, judges and lawyers are not well placed, and would usually lack the knowledge and experience to do so. When they have tried to do so they have embarrassed themselves and caused harm to the rest of us.

END





se
END 
References

Court lifts the gag on tycoon expose
Date: 14/10/2000
By BEN HILLS
The Supreme Court has struck down a "gag order" preventing a freelance
journalist from exposing the business dealings of Malaysia's
wealthiest tycoon, Mr Vincent Tan Chee Yioun.
Yesterday, Justice David Levine, the chief judge in defamation,
cancelled an injunction granted in February restraining journalist
Ganesh Sahathevan from distributing information about Mr Tan's
troubled Berjaya Group, whose interests in Australia include the
listed Carlovers' Carwash Ltd, the Video Ezy video-rental chain, and
Sydney's World Square building site.
Mr Sahathevan was sued for defamation and "injurious falsehood" after
he sent emails to business journalists in Australia and Malaysia
making allegations about Carlovers - which is suspended from the Stock
Exchange after failing to produce an annual report. He sent a copy to
company executives, seeking comment.
Mr Tan is a close friend of Malaysia's Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir
Mohamad, and head of the Berjaya Group, which has been hit hard by the
Asian economic crisis. The company has assets of about $5 billion and
employs 25,000 people.
The injunction was granted under the Fair Trading Act to prevent Mr
Sahathevan damaging Mr Tan's business interests. The Press Council
protested, and the Minister for Fair Trading, Mr Watkins, intervened
in the case, arguing that "we do not want consumer protection
legislation used as a de facto gag on the media".
Mr Sahathevan's counsel, Ms Judith Gibson, argued that it was an
important press freedom case, because if injunctions could be used in
this way it would "place every whistle-blower and every source at
risk". She said her client had claimed that Carlovers had made false
and misleading statements to the Stock Exchange.
In an affidavit, the managing director of Carlovers, Mr Andrew Kok
Leng Teh, strongly denied the allegations.
Yesterday, Justice Levine ruled that Mr Sahathevan was a "prescribed
information provider" under the act, and thus exempt from its
provisions. He agreed with an earlier judgment that: "The Fair Trading
Act was never meant to be a substitute for actions for defamation ...
the court should (not allow its use) for a purpose for which it was
never intended."
He dismissed an argument that Mr Sahathevan was "trying to put the
frighteners" on Mr Tan to influence the result of an unfair dismissal
case he had brought after being sacked last year from Berjaya's
Malaysian newspaper, the Sun. Justice Levine said it was "an urban
myth" that a journalist should be ethically prevented from writing
about something in which he had a great interest, adding that such a
prohibition "would come as a great shock to Mr Robert Hughes, Mr
Phillip Adams, Mr Leo Schofield and Mr Piers Ackerman, for example".
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0010/14/text/national4.html


NSW Chief Justice  Tom Bathurst takes judges to mosque in community reach-out

NSW chief judge in equity Julie Ward is among Supreme Court judges who attend a series of religious ceremonies in a ...
NSW chief judge in equity Julie Ward is among Supreme Court judges who attend a series of religious ceremonies in a community reach-out effort.Peter Braig
by Katie Walsh
Around this time each year, NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst and a handful of judges hop on a bus heading to Sydney's west.
The judges are taking the half-hour drive from the city centre to the Ottoman-style Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, and they are not just there for the reliably good spread of food: it is the venue for one of a number of law term opening ceremonies.
"It's important for us to understand what their concerns are, and that we're not seen as remote from these communities," said Chief Justice Bathurst.
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"They really appreciate it. It really always strikes home to me the warmth we get - it's not just 'thanks for coming, goodbye'."
Auburn Gallopoli Mosque: NSW judges visit each year to open the law term.
Auburn Gallopoli Mosque: NSW judges visit each year to open the law term. 
Despite being secular, courts have long incorporated religious ceremonies into the opening of the law term after the summer break. In NSW, judges visit Catholic and Anglican churches, a Greek Orthodox cathedral and a Jewish synagogue.
But before the chief justice was appointed to the state's top judicial role in 2011 it did not extend to the Islamic community.
"Once you say that's an important justification, it's important you do it to all groups," he said.
They hear about counselling services for unemployed youths and people with drug problems, and meet lawyers from the community. Among the more pervasive concerns relayed to the judges this year was the demonisation by parts of the press.
"They start to feel more and more isolated and misunderstood," said chief justice Bathurst.
"But the community generally appreciates the courts will treat them just like anyone else."
The short service included a speech from a community member, who "explained the Islamic religion, properly interpreted, is consistent with the rule of law in Australia, and it doesn't involve anything more difficult than that".
The mosque ceremony included Supreme Court judge Stephen Rothman, who has held senior positions in the Jewish community, and NSW chief judge in equity Julie Ward, along with NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman, NSW Bar Association president Arthur Moses, and NSW Law Society president Doug Humphries.
"There's a whole argument over whether you should have a religious ceremony at all," Justice Ward explains.
"I've taken the view that if I go to one, then I should try to go to them all."

Changing face of the profession

The legal profession is grappling with ways to attract members from different backgrounds and break the monocultural stereotype.
"We've got to look at encouraging diversity in different ways," said Justice Ward.
"I think it's broken down a reasonable amount; there are judges like me that have come from a non-private school background and it is no longer a 'boy's club', so to speak."
After the ceremony, she finds herself talking to community members who are lawyers, or whose family members are part of the profession or studying towards that goal.
The chief justice said the event attracted "a really good number of young lawyers from the Islamic community", including local solicitors, commercial and in-house lawyers, and barristers.
Justice Rothman has co-hosted lectures and seminars with sheikh and family lawyer Haisam Farache; most recently, one on Thursday night pitched at barristers wanting to become familiarised with Sharia or Islamic law, to counter misinformation, which had "the potential to create a misunderstanding of a legal system, which could be strangely familiar".
Mr Moses said he first heard one of their lectures at a Ramadan Iftar dinner last year hosted by the Muslim Legal Network.
"The emphasis is about ensuring that it is understood that we are part of one community and the rule of law must be respected as well as religious beliefs being respected," he said.
"Mr Farache made the point that it was his view that there was nothing in the Islamic faith or law, which authorised practising Muslims to remain seated when a judge enters a courtroom. We need to embrace leaders from all parts of our community in order to assist them to educate the community about our legal system."
He said the legal profession had to reflect the community it serves, if it wanted to attract confidence.
Data on cultural diversity is hard to come by.
According to an October 2016 snapshot of the profession by the NSW Law Society, 28 per cent of the state's solicitors were born overseas. Of those, close to half (42 per cent) were born in an Asian country and another 17 per cent came from the UK or Ireland —  a trend reversing from the statistics a decade earlier, when 30 per cent were born in Asia and 21 percent from the UK and Ireland. The remaining breakup was mixed: Africa (7.8 per cent), Europe (9.5 per cent), Oceania (11.2 per cent), Middle East (5.2 per cent) and North America (4.6 per cent) the next most dominant.  A perspective on the broader cultural mix, including second-generation lawyers, is harder to determine.
Other states hold similar services. In Queensland, there is one ecumenical church service for the opening of the legal year, attended by heads of all faiths, which rotates around the major city churches. This year it was held at the City Tabernacle Baptist Church; last year, the Albert Street Uniting Church.
In Victoria, there are several church services for different faiths as well as a ceremony at the County Court.
But Chief Justice Bathurst has another extension in his sights: he would like to see a general community service in addition to those servicing specific faiths.
"The important thing is it gives the opportunity for the judges to get out and interact with particular groups in the community

Friday, June 21, 2019

MACC needs to seize the Larry Low -Coastal Energy-CEPSA Petronas concession::Khadem al Qubaisi's 15 year jail sentence makes it easier

by Ganesh Sahathevan



Khadem Al Quabaisi posing as the Chairman of CEPSA
Khadem Al Quabaisi posing as the Chairman of CEPSA:
from Sarawak Report article 1MDB's Aabar Connection - 


Bloomberg reported earlier this week:


Khadem al Qubaisi, who once headed Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co., was handed a 15-year prison sentence and Mohammed Badawy al Husseiny, a U.S. citizen who ran a subsidiary of IPIC, was sentenced to 10 years, according to the report. They jointly must pay about $336 million, the WSJ reported, cited a statement from the emirate’s court.

The court statement didn’t identify the men by name, but people familiar with the judicial actions told the Journal that the unidentified defendants were Al Qubaisi and Al Husseiny. It also cited people familiar as saying the convictions weren’t related to the Malaysian fund scandal.

Malaysia's Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA)   is wide ranging and can be easily used to sieze Low's assets in Malaysia.These include a 7-14% interest in PM-316, held via Coastal Energy .



The asset was acquired at least in part with money misappropriated from 1MDB. Khadem Al-Qubaisi oversaw the transaction,and his connection to Jho Low's 1MDB adventure has been detailed by Sarawak Report in a number of reports.

Seizure of the Petronas concession has been made even easier.

END 



SEE ALSO


aturday, August 25, 2018


Larry Low's Petronas concession PM-316 can be seized under AMLA-Why has this not been done?

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Swiss account frozen over 1MDB connections - Larry Low Hock Peng, Jho Low's Dad.

Larry Low finally charged.


Larry Low , father of Jho, has finally been charged but Malaysian authorities seem even now reluctant to use the laws of Malaysia to cease his assets.

Malaysia's Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA)   is wide ranging and can be easily used to sieze Low's assets in Malaysia.These include a 7-14% interest in PM-316, held via Coastal Energy (see press release below).

The seizure involves a relatively simple sequestration of any monies payable by Petronas to the Low's via CEPSA.
END





Offshore Malaysia

In July 2012, Coastal entered into a Small Field Risk Service Contract ("RSC") with Petroliam Nasional Berhad ("PETRONAS") for the development and production of petroleum from the Kapal, Banang and Meranti cluster of small fields (the "KBM Cluster") offshore Peninsular Malaysia.  Coastal is the operator of the KBM Cluster fields and intends to hold a 70% equity interest alongside a 30% interest local partner.
Pursuant to the RSC, Coastal provides the upfront development capital and undertakes the development drilling and production of the KBM Cluster in exchange for a remuneration fee and recovery of costs, while PETRONAS remains the owner of the project. 
The KBM Cluster fields are located within 20 kilometers of each other in a water depth of 60 meters. The main oil reservoirs are Miocene aged sandstones ranging in depths from 3,800 feet to 7,800 feet.  In addition to the development program, the Company intends to conduct appraisal and step-out drilling to exploit further upside it sees in the properties.
Coastal Energy Company Logo

CEPSA to Acquire Coastal Energy Company for C$19.00 Per Share

Delivers Significant and Immediate Value to Coastal Energy Shareholders



November 19, 2013 00:00 ET | Source: Coastal Energy Company







HOUSTON, Nov. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Energy Company ("Coastal" or the "Company") (TSX:CEN) (AIM:CEO) announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement providing for the acquisition by Compañia Española de Petroleos, S.A.U. ("CEPSA") of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Coastal at a price of C$19.00 per common share in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of 28% to the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX on November 18, 2013. The purchaser is a newly-incorporated CEPSA controlled entity in which Strategic Resources (Global) Limited ("SRG") is an investor. The proposed transaction has an aggregate value of approximately C$2.3 billion including the assumption of C$51 million of net debt. The transaction, which will be completed by way of statutory merger, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.




Commenting on the acquisition, Randy Bartley, CEO of Coastal said, "This transaction delivers significant and immediate value to our shareholders. Our Board of Directors is unanimous in its view that this transaction is in the best interests of Coastal Energy Company and recommends shareholders vote in favor of this transaction."


CEPSA Chief Executive Officer Pedro Miro commented, "Today's announcement reflects an important step in increasing CEPSA's E&P capabilities. Coastal's business comprises a high-quality portfolio of upstream assets located in Southeast Asia, operated by talented management and dedicated employees. We believe that Coastal provides a tremendous foundation for furthering our E&P strategy."


Jho Low, spokesperson for SRG added, "We are excited to invest with CEPSA in Coastal. With our strong relationships in Asia and CEPSA's strength in the E&P, we believe we can grow Coastal's footprint in Asia and further enhance the Company's operations."


The transaction will be funded by CEPSA's and SRG's available financial resources.


Recommendation of the Coastal Energy Company Board of Directors


The Board of Directors of the Company, after consulting with its financial and legal advisors, has unanimously determined that the transaction is in the best interest of the company and that the consideration being offered to the Company's shareholders is fair from a financial point of view. The Board of Directors has resolved to unanimously recommend that the Company's common shareholders vote their shares in favor of the merger at a meeting of shareholders to consider the transaction which is expected to occur in early January 2014.


Additional Information on the Transaction


The definitive merger agreement provides for, among other things, a non-solicitation covenant on the part of Coastal, subject to customary "fiduciary out" provisions, that entitles Coastal to consider and accept a superior proposal and a right in favor of the purchaser to match any superior proposal. If the definitive merger agreement is terminated in certain circumstances, including if Coastal enters into an agreement with respect to a superior proposal or if the Board of Directors of Coastal withdraws or modifies its recommendation with respect to the proposed transaction, the purchaser is entitled to a termination payment of US$76,000,000.


Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval of two-thirds of the votes cast by holders of common shares in person or by proxy at the meeting of shareholders and by a majority of disinterested shareholders in accordance with applicable securities laws, and receipt of applicable government and other approvals. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition.


Coastal shareholders will be asked to vote on the transaction at a special meeting of the Company's shareholders, expected to be held in early January 2014. Full details of the transaction will be included in the Company's information circular to be mailed to holders of Coastal shares in accordance with applicable securities law. A copy of the merger agreement, the information circular and related documents will be filed with Canadian securities regulators and will be available at www.sedar.com.


Certain directors, senior officers and other shareholders of Coastal, representing approximately 36.5 million of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares, have entered into voting support agreements with the purchaser and have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction, subject to the terms and conditions of such agreements.


Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has issued an opinion that the consideration to be received by the shareholders of Coastal in the transaction is fair to such shareholders from a financial point of view.


Coastal's financial advisors are Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC. Coastal's legal advisors are Stikeman Elliott LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and Walkers. Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor to CEPSA. PriceWaterhouseCoopers acted as a financial advisor to CEPSA and SRG. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as legal advisor to CEPSA. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Baker & McKenzie International and Conyers Dill & Pearman, LLP acted as legal advisors to CEPSA and SRG.


Forward-Looking Statements and Information


This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws and which are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of management of the parties as of the date of this news release unless otherwise stated. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning: the anticipated benefits of the transaction to the parties and the Company's shareholders; the timing and anticipated receipt of required shareholder and regulatory approvals for the transaction; the ability of the parties to satisfy the other conditions to, and to complete, the transaction; and the anticipated timing of the meeting of Coastal shareholders to consider the transaction and for the closing of the transaction.


Forward-looking statements are defined by applicable securities legislation and are qualified by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally and also may materially differ from actual future experience involving any one or more of such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include: uncertainties as to the timing of the merger; the anticipated timing of the meeting of the shareholders of Coastal to consider the transaction and uncertainties as to whether shareholders of Coastal will approve the transaction; the risk that competing offers will be made; the possibility that various closing conditions for the transaction may not be satisfied or waived; the possibility that various regulatory or other approvals will not be granted; the satisfaction of various other conditions to the completion of the merger as contemplated by the merger agreement; and the possibility that expected benefits may not materialize as expected.


Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on other factors that could affect the operations or financial results of the parties is included in reports on file with the applicable securities authorities. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the parties undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.


About Coastal Energy Company


Coastal Energy Company is an international exploration and production company with principal assets in Thailand and Malaysia. Coastal owns and operates 100% of Blocks G5/43 and G5/50 in the Gulf of Thailand as well as varying interests onshore northeast Thailand including a 13.7% interest in the Phu Horm gas field. Coastal is also party to a Small Field Risk Service Contract with PETRONAS for the development and production of petroleum from the Kapal, Banang and Meranti cluster of small fields offshore Peninsular Malaysia.


About CEPSA


CEPSA is an integrated energy company operating at every stage of the oil value chain, with more than 11,000 employees. It is engaged in petroleum and natural gas exploration and production activities; refining, the transport and sale of crude oil derivatives; petrochemicals, gas, and electricity. CEPSA is Spain's fourth largest industrial group in terms of turnover and has been in the market for more than 80 years. Through progressive internationalization of its activities, CEPSA also has business interests in Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Portugal and sells its products all over the world. CEPSA is wholly owned by International Petroleum Investment Company, which is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government.


About Strategic Resources (Global) Limited ("SRG")


Strategic Resources (Global) Limited is a private investment holding company controlled by international value investor Larry Low H P. Coastal Energy Company Email: +1 (713) 877-6793 NOMAD Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) Rory Murphy / Andrew Emmott +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 CEPSA Ignacio Rodriguez-Solano +34 91 3376766 SRG Edelman on behalf of SRG +1 212 729 2463 / +1 212 704 8166

1MDB: A MACC asset recovery taskforce has been formed,almost a year late:PwC and all others should now be sacked

by Ganesh Sahathevan


PwC chairman Faiz Azmi and team never had the capacityfor a job like 1MDB

What should have happened the day after the new government in Malaysia took office has finally occurred:

A special taskforce will be formed to recover assets related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) abroad, believed to be in the region of US$5bil, says the anti-graft agency.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Azam Baki said the taskforce would be led by the National Financial Crime Centre.
"There are many more assets which we want to recover, including in the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
"We are in the midst of forming this special team to cover the outstanding assets," he said to reporters on Friday (June 21).

Government agencies with all the powers and infrastructure available to the Prime Minister's Department ought to have been tasked to recover the 1MDB assets the day after the Najib administration lost power. They were not, and instead  ill equipped and poorly skilled professional firms like PriceWaterhouseCoopers  Malaysiia and others were hired.They have not had much to show despite being appointed almost a year ago, and despite  the United States Department Of Justice  having done most of the work of discovery,and seizure,  in the three or so years prior.
PwC and others should be sacked with immediate effect.Their fees should be subject to a rigorous audit by the National Audit Office.

END 

See also 

More ways in which PM Mahathir could look for 1MDB money,and why the job cannot be left to PwCand Tony Pua


PwC is Goldman Sachs' auditor; ;PwC appointed by the Malaysian Govt to examine Goldman Sachs 1MDB transactions

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

HK protests and Top Education Group: Can AG Speakman assure student protesters that powers he has granted Top Group will not be used against them

by Ganesh Sahathevan







The Hong Kong student led protests against the China extradition bill drew support from protesters in Sydney.The Sydney protests were large enough for China's Global Times to dismiss them as a "staged show".



Australian university students have a proud tradition of protest and demonstration against issues around the world, but the China protests present the danger of students being penalized under Australian laws.



It has been previously reported on this blog that the Attorney General NSW Mark Speakman has granted the Chinese Communist Party connected Minshen Zhu's Top Education Group Ltd not only the first ever license issued a private company to award LLB degrees, but also statutory powers which allow Top Group and its management to issue adverse reports against any Law student who seeks admission to practice in NSW and Australia.That can include students who complain about course content and delivery,as this writer has discovered from a recent experience with the College Of Law Sydney and the AG.



As the story below in The Australian, 17 January 2019 demonstrates, the AG NSW Mark Speakman and his officers at the Legal Profession Admission Board are capable of believing anything that is put to them (or which they have discovered), in their enforcement of those reports.



Given Top Group and Minshen Zhu's Communist Party China antecedents, it is more likely than not that students who choose to protest against China will face persecution. Law students in particular are especially vulnerable, given the precedent that Speakman and his officers at the LPAB have set.Speakman needs to provide Top Group students a public  assuarance that their right to protest will be defended. 
Speakman and his officers have yet to provide any kind of explanation for the matters reported below.


END 


Reference




The parties named below were happy to rely on provisions of the Australian Uniform Legal Profession Rules to declare that this writer's queries as a journalist put to the College's CEO (and the AG NSW who oversees the College) were evidence of harassment, threatening and intimidatory behaviour. The College continues to stonewall, even as it pushes into Malaysia , refusing to answer all questions put to it and its managers, safe in knowledge that its has the backing of the Australian establishment.

Bizarre blog claims used to deny man right to practise law



BEN BUTLER


BUSINESS REPORTER


12:00AM JANUARY 17, 2019


The body overseen by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst responsible for deciding who can practise law in NSW relied on a wildly defamatory Malaysian blog depicting ABC journalists, former British prime minister Tony Blair, financier George Soros and others as part of a global conspiracy when deciding to deny a would-be solicitor a certificate to practise.




Chief Justice Bathurst and Legal Practitioner Admission Board executive officer Louise Pritchard declined to answer The Australian’s questions about how the article came into the board’s hands and why its members felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer. Nor would either say which of the 10 members of the LPAB, three of whom are serving NSW Supreme Court judges, was on the deciding panel.




Ms Pritchard has left her role at the LPAB since The Australian began making inquiries in September. The article, published in December 2017 on website The Third Force, accuses Mr Sahathevan of engaging in a conspiracy to attack then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.


EXCLUSIVE


Would-be lawyer denied by blog


BEN BUTLER







Mahathir Mohamad, who returned as prime minister after toppling Mr Najib in elections held last May, is also smeared as a participant in the globe-spanning conspiracy.




Mr Najib was under pressure at the time over the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, which the US Department of Justice says has been looted of billions of dollars that was spent on property, art, jewels and the Leonardo DiCaprio film, The Wolf of Wall Street.




Malaysian authorities have charged Mr Najib with dozens of corruption offences that could attract decades in jail over his role in the 1MDB scandal, which allegedly included the flow of about $US1 billion through his personal bank account.




The article’s author, Malaysian political operative and Najib loyalist Raggie Jessy, also accused Rewcastle-Brown, Stein and Besser of receiving money, totalling millions of dollars, to participate in a Four Corners program exposing the 1MDB scandal that aired on the ABC in March 2016.




There is no suggestion any of Mr Jessy’s bizarre allegations are true. However, the LPAB cited the piece when denying Mr Sahathevan admission as a lawyer in an undated and unsigned set of reasons sent to him on August 3 last year.




It used the article as evidence in a passage dealing with legal conflicts between Mr Sahathevan, who has largely worked in the past as a journalist, his former employer, Malaysia’s Sun Media Group, and the company’s owner, tycoon Vincent Tan.




In that context, the board said the Third Force article reported “that Mr Sahathevan was investigated for blackmail, extortion, bribery and defamation”. While the article claims that blackmail, extortion, bribery and defamation “are but some of the transgressions many from around the world attribute” to Mr Sahathevan, The Australian was unable to find any reference in it to an investigation into him on these grounds.




It is unclear why the board felt the need to rely on the article, as it also made adverse findings about Mr Sahathevan’s character based on a series of other allegations including that he used “threatening and intimidating” language in emails to the College of Law and the NSW Attorney General and did not disclose his sacking from a previous job to the board.




Mr Sahathevan has denied the allegations in correspondence with the board.




The board also cited evidence that one of Mr Sahathevan’s blogs on Malaysian politics was banned by the Najib regime as indicating his poor character.




In an email to Chief Justice Bathurst, sent on August 30, Rewcastle-Brown said her site, Sarawak Report, which exposed much of the 1MDB scandal, was banned by the Malaysian government.




“I along with other critics of the 1MDB scandal (which includes Mr Sahathevan) became the target of immense state-backed vilification, intimidation and online defamation campaigns on behalf of the Malaysian government,” she said.




She said the board’s use of the Third Force article against Mr Sahathevan displayed “a troubling level of misjudgment and poor quality research, giving a strong impression that someone seeking to find reasons to disqualify this candidate simply went through the internet looking for ‘dirt’ against him”.




“The Third Force has consistently been by far the most outlandish, libellous, vicious and frankly ludicrous of all the publications that were commissioned as part of former prime minister Najib Razak’s self-proclaimed ‘cyber army’ which he paid (and continues to pay) to defame his perceived enemies and critics,” she said.




Besser, who now works in the ABC’s London bureau, told The Australian: “It’s clearly nonsense and comes from the darkest corners of some pretty wild Malaysian conspiracy theorists.”




Mr Sahathevan’s application is to be reconsidered at an LPAB meeting next month (Admission has since been denied, for the same reasons, but without explicit reference to the Thirdforce story).
BUSINESS REPORTER
Business reporter Ben Butler has covered everything from tractors to fashion to corporate collapses. He has previously worked for the Herald Sun and as a senior business reporter with The Age and Sydney Morning...