HomeNews/NoticesNewsPress Statements Bar appalled by the statement of the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali
Bar appalled by the statement of the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali
Friday, 01 October 1999 12:00am
The Bar Council is appalled by the Statement attributed to the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali and reported in the newspapers today.
To bar any practising lawyer from becoming a politician or being involved in politics in any manner in his personal capacity is wholly unacceptable as it is a restraint on an individual lawyer's democratic right to his freedom of pursuing his political conviction. It does not follow that when a lawyer-politician acts in political cases he does so in breach of the ethics of the profession or that similarly when acting as a lawyer he does not discharge his duties required of him if he is a legislator.
The Deputy Minister is wholly misconceived in his understanding of the Legal Profession Act, 1976 when he says that lawyers holding political posts handling cases involving politicians could be in breach of the Act. The Act does not preclude or prohibit any lawyer-politician from handling cases involving politicians from so acting.
Lawyers by the very nature of their training are eminently qualified to discuss and debate the affairs of the nation in the political arena and have over the years contributed to the healthy development of good governance.
Taking the Deputy Minister's Statement to its logical conclusion lawyers would be confined to lawyering, doctors to their medical practice and similarly all other professionals to their calling leaving those who have no calling to indulge in politics and run the affairs of the nation.
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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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