Press Release
Reactionary attack on independence of the Bar is fundamentally flawed
The
Malaysian Bar is flabbergasted at Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s reported announcement
that a proposed law academy “can be an alternative” to the Bar, and that
the Bar Council “should dissolve itself”.
The
Malaysian Bar is opposed to this suggestion, which appears similar to
the proposal that the Government had mooted, and subsequently withdrawn,
twice in the past.[1] Regrettably, this third occurrence appears to
have come about purely as a reaction to the Bar’s strong message,
contained in the Bar’s final report on the BERSIH 3.0 public assembly on 28 April 2012 (“Bar’s final report”) and the resolution adopted at the Bar’s Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) on 11 May 2012 (“EGM resolution”), of grave concern and condemnation of the use of excessive force by the police during the public assembly.
The
announcement lends itself to the perception that the proposal is
revived from time to time when the Government feels threatened by an
independent Bar that does not countenance the abuse of power by the
institutions of the state (the police, in this case), and speaks up in
defence of the public at large. The Bar, in doing so, is fulfilling its
duty under section 42(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 (“LPA”),
namely, “to uphold the cause of justice . . . uninfluenced by fear and
favour”.
The
Malaysian Bar welcomes any move to encourage legal excellence, promote
high academic standards and encourage social interaction and discourse
by all those interested in the law. However, under the LPA, only the Bar
Council is empowered to set standards for the legal profession, issue
Practising Certificates, and regulate Members of the Bar. The creation
of any “alternative” institution empowered to control the conduct of the
legal profession, would usurp the functions and powers of the Bar
Council under the LPA and ignore its powers and duty to regulate its own
affairs, and would be an intolerable assault on the independence of the
Malaysian Bar.
If
any Member of the Bar wishes to set up an association of lawyers, that
Member is entitled to do so, as our Federal Constitution guarantees the
right to freedom of association. Such initiatives have resulted in the
founding of, for example, the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association,
Catholic Lawyers Society, and Association of Women Lawyers.
The
36 members of the Bar Council are elected — not appointed — as leaders
by Members of the Bar annually, in a transparent process. If there is
any dissatisfaction about the leadership of the Bar, Members can propose
motions of no confidence against the Council members, as they have
done, unsuccessfully, in the past.
The
test of a mature and democratic society is the manner in which it
treats the weakest amongst it. On 28 April 2012, when the mighty weight
of the police was unleashed without restraint onto the streets of Kuala
Lumpur, many innocent participants were undeservedly harmed. This is
in contrast to the restraint exercised by the police in Ipoh, Johor
Bahru, Kuantan and Malacca. The Malaysian Bar will continue to speak
out and seek justice for the affected participants, and to require
transparency and accountability from our law enforcement agencies, which
continue to commit the same transgressions already highlighted in four
previous SUHAKAM public inquiries.
The Malaysian Bar urges the Government not to attack the messenger, but to act on the message contained in the Bar’s final report and the EGM resolution instead.
Lim Chee Wee
President
Malaysian Bar
15 May 2012
_____________________________________
[1] See resolutions adopted at the EGMs of the Malaysian Bar held on 21 September 1996 and 31 May 2002.
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