KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council has vowed to continue applying pressure on the government if its demand to drop the Peaceful Assembly Bill is ignored.
“We will continue knocking on the doors of Parliament if this bill becomes law and makes it to the statute books in this form. We will not give up hope,” Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee told a press conference at the parliament lobby.
He said the Bar Council will continue pressuring the government to ensure that justice is upheld.
Urging elected representatives to “vote with conscience”, Lim said the Bar Council had briefed MPs and political party leaders on why it opposed the bill.
He had also submitted the Bar Council’s own draft of a bill as an alternative to the government bill and an open letter to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk V. K. Liew at the parliament lobby.
“We urge the MPs to think very carefully on this issue which affects the people’s constitutional rights,” he said.
Lim narrated how historically Umno founder-president Datuk Onn Jaafar had led a procession of 15,000 people to oppose the Malayan Union scheme proposed by the then colonial British administration, and succeded in its demands to have the scheme aborted.
“A march, procession or assembly in motion, which is defined as street protest in this current government bill, is deep in the history of Malaysia.
“Our nation was founded on processions. That is why we urge the government not to strike back at the foundation of this bill,” Lim said.
He pointed out that “history is full of civil disobedience events which have led to better changes in the country”.
Stressing that the Bar Council is neither anti-government nor pro-opposition, Lim said: “We are pro-justice and pro-rule of law. The Bar Council has on many occasions worked very closely with the government and supported it.
“It is unfortunate that today is not such an occasion.”
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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.
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