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Q: So why not make attendance at AGMs compulsory?

A: We have 12,000 members and if everybody turns up we would need a stadium to conduct our AGM.

Q: Turning to more pressing issues, what is the Bar Council doing about the backlog of cases in courts which runs up to the thousands?

A: Well it’s a combination of factors leading to the backlog and therefore there can be no one single solution to the problem.

For one, there is no denying that the volume of cases before the courts has increased tremendously over the years but we do not have enough judges and judicial officers to deal with it.

We need quality support staff for the judges - secretaries, interpreters and research assistants. So often judges are bogged down taking notes during a trial.

And that slows the process. Precious judicial time is lost in taking down notes in long hand. In our view there is no justification for using the court’s time to do this kind of work.

We are recommending to the authorities to implement a court reporting system whereby the judges only hear cases and need not take down notes, except his own.

That should free him, so to speak, and justice can be dispensed much faster.

In fact a few months ago, after a presentation by the Bar Council, the Attorney-General’s Chambers was very supportive of the system. We hope the system can be implemented quickly.

In the meantime the courts should allow the use of tape recorders so that hearings can proceed much faster.

We also hold the view that remuneration for judges should be reviewed to attract quality people. What a judge earns in Malaysia is a far cry from what judges in Singapore and other developed countries earn.

Q: That’s the High Court but what about the magistrate’s court where even offences which carry short jail sentences are also piling up?

A: One word. Volume. Again it’s like organising traffic flow in a city which has expanded 10 times from say five years ago. There are so many cases that it warrants a short, medium and long- term planning so that we have enough staff to deal with it.

Q: Perhaps the appointment of more magistrates should solve the problem but why is the Government reluctant to do so?

A: Oh, I can’t guess the reason. You should direct that question to the authorities.

Q: What about the issue of Legal Practising Certificates (LPC) which some lawyers do not have and yet continue to practise?

A: Let’s be clear on this. Practising without a LPC is totally wrong and unacceptable to the Bar Council. Normally this time of the year, we instruct our solicitors to file injunctions against those who have not renewed their certificates.

There are cases where some of them have quit the profession, so they chose not to renew their certificates.

And there are those who are late in submitting their audited accounts because they have branches nationwide and face problems co-ordinating their bottomline which cause delays in obtaining their certificates.

But we are looking at ways to speed up the approval process and we also have a committee to review the Legal Profession Act and make recommendations to the Government, which includes the issuance of practising certificates.

Q: What about rogue lawyers who are giving the profession a bad name?

A: Every profession has its bad hats. But it’s not to say that we tolerate such behaviour. But given the fact that there are only five or six cases of criminal breach of trust among lawyers a year, it only’s 0.5 per cent out of a total of 12,000 members.

To have zero CBT cases would be ideal but it would remain an ideal.

Maybe we should tackle this problem from a different angle, like imposing a higher standard at the Bar entry level because people have been saying that for many years the Bar has been too relaxed on entry levels.

But first we must be given the power and discretion to self regulate by imposing a higher of entry requirements, both in terms of skills and integrity.

Q: How’s the relationship between the Bench and the Bar?

A: Good and getting better. For the past two years, we have been working very closely with the judiciary for each other’s mutual benefit.

Q: What are your plans and priority for the council during your tenure?

A: To create a more conducive environment in our judicial system whereby lawyers can provide the best possible service when they come before the court.

To co-operate with the judiciary to be more efficient and effective as the trend nowadays is to move away from technicality and focus on the meat and substance.

This means judges should exercise more patience, especially with junior lawyers, to make everyone before his court more comfortable. At the end of the day, the client deserves and expects the best from his lawyer.

The Bar has grown in very large numbers in the past few years. We need to keep pace with it.

My priority is the continuing education of lawyers. In fact, last month’s AGM did make a decision that it's compulsory for all lawyers to undergo continuing education every year.

The same should be applied to judges, magistrates and prosecutors, too.

To help speed up the process of the renewal of LPC, is another priority because there will be come a certain period in the year when application for renewals would come in, so much so there is a bottleneck.

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