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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that whatever stand taken by the Malaysian Bar must be in the best interest of the whole country instead of any internal pressure group.

"For instance, when the Bar Council officially supports dissenting judgments or pushes forward its view that Malaysia is a secular state, the Bar must take care to not simply represent the views of certain segments of the society," said the Prime Minister in his keynote address at the 14th Malaysian Law Conference 2007 here.

He said any miscalculation in this regard could drive a deeper wedge between the different groups in the country.

"This opens the Bar Council to accusations of causing greater damage, not only to the Bar Council as a professional body, but also to the country," he said.

Abdullah said as a body whose opinion was widely respected not just locally, but also internationally, the Bar Council must recognise the repercussions of its actions.

"With regard to the recent `Putrajaya March', I would first take the view that a public demonstration is not like any other public social event.

"A demonstration gives the impression that a problem has reached an intractable impasse, even when, in reality, it has not," he said.

Abdullah said it also sent negative vibes to domestic and foreign investors, undermining the tireless efforts of industry and government in attracting investments and subsequently, in creating employment and providing new economic opportunities.

The future of the country depended on, among others, the political stability and societal peace which had been preserved for so many years, and "the creation of negative perception, through over-reaching and unfounded public accusations, is difficult to overcome," he said.

The Prime Minister said "these damaging perceptions can potentially be all that it takes for us to fall behind other countries in this increasingly competitive global environment."

"We must always take the view that disagreement and differences can be solved in many ways. The government is not only willing, but is also serious in addressing the views of the legal fraternity, of which the Bar Council is a party," he said.

Abdullah said a more constructive way was working together sincerely and without pre-conditions, as well as, without being suspicious of each other.

The government took the views expressed by the Bar Council seriously, and "just like the Bar, we believe in the independence of judiciary and upholding the supremacy of the Constitution."

Improving the judicial service, eradicating corruption and enhancing the performance of the public sector were also among the government's national priorities, he said.

The Prime Minister said he did not deny that there were imperfections and challenges that the country was facing, "while we still have some way to go, the legal fraternity should not be irrationally negative or unduly pessimistic about the progress the country has made."

Abdullah said that there were many more opportunities that could be better explored together and with a greater sense of common purpose, not only for the socio-political development in the country but also to further develop the country's economy.

He said the legal firms should be selling their services internationally, and in line with the government's moves in promoting new sources of growth, for example the Islamic financial services, the legal fraternity was encouraged to develop specialist legal expertise in this area.

In doing so, they would be able to take full advantage of the same opportunities on offer, as bankers and other perfessional sectors had already done, he said.

"New business opportunities and the entry of big and sophisticated global players in niche industries and planned growth areas, such as the Iskandar Development Region, require that our legal firms have the capacity and capability to meet the increasing demands and expectations," he said.

Abdullah also suggested that the Bar Council, which has more than 12,000 members and it is growing at 10 to 12 per cent annually, assisted its members, especially the small and medium-size firms, to develop business skills and specialist legal competencies, including internationally applicable ones to enable them to compete with larger local firms which were already forming alliances with major foreign firms.

He also said there was a need for strategies and programmes to be formulated to ensure that Malaysian lawyers were better able to understand and face the more demanding and constantly changing global legal environment.

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