©The Malaysian Insider (Used by permission)
by V Anbalagan
A muted Bar Council will be a loss to the judiciary and society, says former Bar president.
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee has suggested that the 17,000 lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia write to their MPs to oppose proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act (LPA).
“Please ask them, as your representative, to object to the tabling of the amendment Bill,” he said at a public forum yesterday.
Lim also urged the lawyers to lobby members of Barisan Nasional component parties’ highest decision–making bodies, including the Umno Supreme Council, on why they should not support the government in introducing changes to the LPA.
“This proposed amendment is an assault on the independence of the Bar and all must stand firmly with the Bar Council,” he added.
Attorney–General Mohamed Apandi Ali had said the government’s decision to amend the LPA was to make the Bar Council more “transparent, democratic and to return it to its original purpose”.
Bar Council members have been going on a nationwide roadshow to explain to lawyers that the proposed amendments were an effort to curtail the independence of the Bar.
Lim said the previous AG, Abdul Gani Patail and former de–facto law minister Nazri Aziz had guaranteed the Bar would remain independent to carry out its duty without fear.
“The proposed amendments are being introduced not due to the question of principle, but personality,” Lim added, without elaborating.
He said the Bar’s decision to institute legal action against Apandi on his handling of the RM2.6 billion found in the private bank accounts of Prime Minister Najib Razak was absolutely valid.
Lim warned that a muted Bar would be a loss to the judiciary and society.
During the question–and–answer session, retired judge Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus hoped the government would come to its senses when the time came to table the amendment when Parliament sits next month.
He said a parliamentary select committee should be set up to obtain feedback from the public and interest groups on the proposed amendments before it was debated.
“Hopefully, it will not be bulldozed like the controversial National Security Council Act which was passed in the wee hours of the morning, last year,” he added.
Current Malaysian Bar President Steven Thiru said legal action could not be discounted even if the amendments were passed by Parliament.
The proposal allows for two appointed government representatives to sit in the Bar Council.
Another crucial change in the proposed amendments to the LPA is to revamp the entire election process, confining it to state boundaries.
At the moment, the council comprises 38 members who are elected annually to manage the affairs and execute the functions of the Bar.
It also seeks to impose punitive quorum requirements of 25 per cent of total membership for annual general meetings.