Access to free legal aid is a fundamental human right, which is to be provided
by the State. In relation to criminal legal aid for example, Article 14(3)(d) of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that every
person accused of a criminal charge shall be entitled “(t)o be tried in his
presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own
choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right;
and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of
justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not
have sufficient means to pay for it” (emphasis in italics added).
The provision of legal aid by the Malaysian Government under the Legal Aid Act
1971 is severely limited. In criminal cases for example, the Government’s Legal
Aid Bureaus only handle cases in situations where an accused pleads guilty and
wishes to make a plea in mitigation; as a result of which, many accused still
languish in prison without legal representation.
The Malaysian Bar has established a legal aid scheme whereby representation by
advocates and solicitors is available to impecunious persons pursuant to section
42(h) of the Legal Profession Act 1976. Members of the Bar make annual
contributions to this scheme through a Legal Aid Fund, and the Bar’s Legal Aid
Centres are found across the Peninsular actively assisting the financially poor
and marginalised in society on their legal affairs in addition to administering
various law awareness and capacity-building programmes. The Centres are also at
the forefront of monitoring arrests and detentions, and providing legal
representation at the trials of public interest cases (e.g. during the
prosecutions of the Reformasi, HINDRAF and BERSIH public assemblies).
Nevertheless, the Bar’s resources are finite and incapable of meeting the
ever-increasing demand for free legal aid on a range of matters. The Government
must live up to its responsibility imposed by international human rights law to
cater for all persons in need of free legal aid.
A first step would be to review and amend the Legal Aid Act 1971 by widening the
jurisdiction of the Bureaus. Secondly, there should be a greater openness on the
part of the Bureaus to co-operate with and embrace the work of the Bar’s Legal
Aid Centres.
The Government’s move to “expand the scope and responsibilities of legal aid
officers” should not solely be to clear “backlogged cases”. Legal aid for all
must be provided by the Government.
Human Rights Committee
Bar Council
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Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. 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.
The Committee refers to The Star’s report on 28 May 2008 entitled “
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