The Bar Council is concerned over the recent spate of events reported in the newspapers involving the burning of five churches and the reported anthrax scare at the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) headquarters in Petaling Jaya. The Bar Council welcomes the response of Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung that the Government views the cases in relation to the churches seriously and has committed itself to religious freedom and tolerance.
The Bar Council shares the view that such acts must not be treated lightly as the above events have occurred during a time when religion has become a sensitive issue both locally and internationally. In the light of the US strike against terrorism in Afghanistan, such acts may conceivably be interpreted by the victims and other concerned members of the public to be expressions of religious intolerance in Malaysia.
The Bar Council agrees with the Deputy Home Minister that it is too early to conclude whether the acts were the work of arsonists or religious extremists. While police investigations are said to be underway, the Bar Council hopes that the authorities will carry out a thorough investigation and urges the investigation findings to be made public as soon as possible to prevent undue speculation by the public. For the same reasons, the NECF incident also calls for investigation and for the persons responsible to be brought to book.
This is paramount in view of Malaysia being a multi-racial and multi-religious society where the social fabric must be balanced. Citizens must have the confidence that they are, in practice, able to exercise their constitutional rights to practice religion freely and without fear. These rights must be protected in order to ensure that unity, justice and national security are safeguarded at all times.
2012 Bar Council Subscription Click the link above to download Circular 072/2012 pertaining to the 2012 Bar Council subscription, including the payment guide and a set of Frequently-Asked-Questions.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
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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