The Bar Council expresses regret at the unjustified criticism made of it yesterday by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. The Amendments are an important question affecting the entire legal profession and it cannot be expected that the Bar Council would not respond to the matter especially where the Amendments brought into force are not new or recent but twenty (20) years old.
It does not help to criticise or hurl accusation against the Bar Council on this subject. It is more important that the matter be considered rationally to determine whether the Amendments enacted twenty (20) years ago should be enforced under the different climate prevailing now from the time it was enacted. The Honourable Deputy Minister is apparently unaware that the Bar Council has had correspondence with the Attorney General's Chambers on this subject in August/September 1997 in the context of the admission of foreign lawyers. The correspondence did not progress further after that. The Bar Council cannot therefore be faulted for being surprised when the Amendments were brought into force without further reference to it on February 1, 1999.
The Bar Council notes the reference by the Deputy Minister to the welfare of Malaysian lawyers. The enforcement of these Amendments, which could provide an opening to foreign lawyers, do not aid the welfare of Malaysian lawyers. At this time of economic downturn lawyers like others in the business environment are experiencing difficulties and there have already been several cases of law firms scaling down operations and lawyers being subjected to salary reduction or salary freezes.
The Bar Council reiterates its call for the repeal of the Amendments.
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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.
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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Circular No 110/2012: Seminar on Introduction to ICC Arbitration: An Insight into the 2012 ICC Rules
