National Legal Aid Committee (NLAC) 2009/2010 Interim Report
Tuesday, 08 December 2009 11:13am
There are 25 members in the National Legal Aid Committee (NLAC), including two non-Bar members. Out of this total, 15 are from outstation. The Chairpersons of the various State Legal Aid Centres (LACs) are de facto members of NLAC. However, there are also state representatives who will attend the NLAC meetings if the State LAC Chairpersons are unable to attend.
The NLAC’s objectives are to:
(1)
Provide legal aid and promote legal awareness to the public in accordance with section 42(1)(h) of the Legal Profession Act 1976;
(2)
Supervise the operation and management of the State LACs; and
(3)
Lobby the government on matters pertaining to equal access to justice
and legal aid issues, including pursuing the establishment of the
National Legal Aid Foundation and promoting the principle that legal
aid is a human right.
In terms of activities, NLAC organised the Legal Aid Gala Charity Dinner and Dance on 14 Mar 2009, in conjunction with the Malaysian Bar Annual Dinner and Dance. This event, which was the first-of-its-kind for the Malaysian Bar, succeeded in raising more than RM80,000 for the Legal Aid Fund.
NLAC also organised the National Law Awareness Week (NLAW) which took place from 24 Oct to 31 Oct 2009. The week-long event was launched in Sg Petani, Kedah and officiated by the Chief Minister of Kedah, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Ustaz Azizan Abu Bakar.
Kedah was chosen as the launch venue for this year’s NLAW to show appreciation for the Kedah State Government’s financial assistance to the Kedah/Perlis Legal Aid Centre over these two years. NLAC encourages and welcomes similar gestures from other state governments. Facilitating access to justice to the public should be one of the cornerstones of responsible federal and state governments.
NLAC is also involved in lobbying the Federal Government to offer more, and improved, legal aid services to the public. In Feb 2009, a policy paper on the setting up of a National Legal Aid Foundation was submitted to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. However, this proposal is expected to take a while to materialise due to the magnitude of the project.
NLAC has also put forward a Ringgit-for-Ringgit proposal for financial support from the Federal Government. This means that every ringgit contributed by the Malaysian Bar from its Legal Aid Fund would be matched by the Federal Government. As such, the Federal Government has been urged to grant RM1.4 million to the Malaysian Bar’s Legal Aid Fund for the year 2009, as this is the sum that has been disbursed to the State LACs.
The Executive Officer for NLAC is Adilah Ariffin and she can be contacted at 03-2034 2071 or 03-2031 3003 ext 160, or by email adilah@malaysianbar.org.my.
Cecil Rajendra Chairperson National Legal Aid Committee
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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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