December 21, 2023
GERAK expresses our deepest condolences on the passing of Sulaiman Abdullah, one of Malaysia’s legendary lawyers and a former president of the Malaysian Bar.
Sulaiman was Gerak’s legal adviser for many years, ever since Gerak was established in 1993. Even before that, we sought his advice when preparing Gerak’s draft constitution.
Our friendship actually began in 1985 when he agreed to become a defence attorney for the Academic and Administrative Staff Association, Universiti Sains Malaysia (PKAPUSM) on a pro-bono basis.
At that time, USM administrators had taken disciplinary action against the association’s president and vice president for voicing the views of concerned academics.
However, we felt that USM administrators had contravened the provisions of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) and challenged this action at the Penang High Court under a writ of certiorari, arguing that the USM disciplinary committee had acted arbitrarily and without following proper procedures.
The trial at the Penang High Court took about two years and Sulaiman constantly travelled back and forth to Penang from Kuala Lumpur every time trial time approached.
By Wan Manan Wan Muda
1st Chairperson & founding member of GERAK