by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Thursday, 2nd January 1992:
Proposal to make Attorney-General the head of the Bar Council a retrograde step, designed to turn the Bar Council into a creature of the Barisan Nasional government and to destroy the independence of the lawyers
The proposal to make Attorney-General the head of the Bar Council is a retrograde step, designed to turn the Bar Council into a creature of the Barisan Nasional government and would destroy the independence of the lawyers in Malaysia.
The reason given by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr.Mahathir Mohamed yesterday for considering the proposal to make the Attorney-General the head of the Bar Council is completely untenable and unacceptable.
Dr.Mahathir said the Bar Council almost resembled a political party and did not pay much heed to what lawyers did. He said the people are dissatisfied because the Bar Council does not act fast on cases of cheating by lawyers.
Dr.Mahathir’s comment is most surprising as Parliament had just amended the Legal Profession Act (LPA) to replace the existing disciplinary procedure for advocates and solicitors.
Under the new amendments to the LPS, which is awaiting the Royal Assent, a new Disciplinary Board, which is to be chaired by a person appointed by the Chief Justice, will take over all matters relating to disciplinary proceedings from the Bar Council.
The country was told only on 20th December by the Minister of Justice, Syed Hamid Syed Albar, in the Dewan Rakyat when moving the LPA Amendment Bill, that the amendments are to deal with the public’s dissatisfaction over the delay and cumbersome machinery with regard to disciplinary complaints against advocates and solicitors.
The appointment of the Attorney-General as head of the Bar Council, therefore, has nothing to do with the maintenance of professional disciplinary and integrity among lawyers, bit with the intention to make the Bar Council into a creature of the Barisan Nasional government and to destroy the independence of the lawyers.
What does Dr.Mahathir mean when he says that the Bar Council almost resembles a political party? Does he mean that the Bar Council would be a model Bar Council in the eyes of the Barisan Nasional Government, if it supports all actions taken by the Government, including the highly arbitrary, irregular and unconstitutional dismissal of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President and the expulsion of two Supreme Court Judges, Tan Sri Wan Sulaiwan and Datuk George Seah?
It is the Prime Minister who is trying to ‘politicise’ the Bar Council, by ensuring that the Bar Council will slavishly endorse all actions of the Barisan Nasional government, regardless of the great harm and damage to the principles of the rule of law, the independence of the Judiciary and the independence of the lawyers in Malaysia.
DAP calls on Dr.Mahathir to cease and desist and to abandon all attempts to ‘politicise’ the Bar Council by taking the retrograde step of appointing the Attorney-General as head of the Bar Council.
Dr.Mahathir should explain whether in his Vision 2020, there is a place for the rule of law, the independence of judiciary and the independence of lawyers in Malaysia!