KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council forum on Saturday should have been allowed to
proceed, said the PAS Research Centre.
“A small group of us met to discuss the forum and we were unanimous that it
should have been allowed to proceed. There are valid reasons for such a forum,”
said Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, the centre director, in an interview.
“As was emphasised to us by International Islamic University constitutional law
expert Dr Abdul Aziz Bari and Hanifah Maidin, the head of PAS legal bureau,
Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution when passed had not envisaged the
circumstances that could arise, for example, the impact on people of other
faiths embracing Islam.
“We don’t see the forum as non-Muslims encroaching into theological matters. The
underpinning reason was for the legal, technical and procedural lacuna created
by Article 121 (1A) to be ironed out in earnestness and intellectual integrity.
“Take the case of Subashini and Saravanan who were married under civil law and
he later on embraced Islam.
“If the non-converting spouse does not use the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce)
Act to dissolve the marriage, what happens? These are long-standing issues that
the authorities should have ironed out long ago; instead, every time a case like
this raises its ugly head, it is Muslims and Islam that get bashed.”
Dr Dzulkifli, who is also the Kuala Selangor MP, said those who had united to
oppose the forum had no understanding of the issue at hand.
“That's why Dr Mehrun Siraj (who was cut short from talking by the protesters
who wanted the forum to end) asked for reform,” he said.
“We thought that after the March election, we had proven that we could manage
dissent intellectually and discuss issues without getting emotional.
“We regret Saturday’s incident. There are some issues that should be discussed
behind closed doors but this was just to plug the loopholes.”
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Seminar on an Introduction to the Industrial Relations Act (23 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 23 May 2012 (Wednesday). The seminar will be conducted by Wong Keat Ching. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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Circular No 106/2012: Accountant’s Report 2011
