They were expecting about 100 lawyers to attend the dialogue with the minister but instead only 20 turned up.

As a result, Thursday's dialogue between Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz and members of the Malaysian Bar turned into an "embarrassing and disappointing" one.

The meeting, organised by the Bar Council's human rights committee, was eventually moved from the council's auditorium to a smaller room and turned into a 'roundtable discussion'.

The one-hour talk centred on the notorious Internal Security Act (ISA) and other legislations related to detention without trial. No specific topic was fixed for the dialogue which was not open to the media.

According to some participants, the minister spoke in defence of the ISA , widely criticised by human rights groups including the Bar Council, and reiterated the necessity to keep the preventive security act.

At the end of the dialogue, the human rights committee reiterated its stance against the ISA but no specific proposal or suggestion were put forward to repeal the act.

Apathy among lawyers

Four lawyers - including one who did not attend the dialogue - when contacted for comment described the event as "embarrassing and disappointing" due to the poor turnout.

A lawyer who declined to be named said the episode reflected an apathy among the lawyers and their attitude of not appreciating the opportunity to bring up relevant issues with a minister.

"We didn't make use of the presence of the minister. Even the council's exco members were not there, just two or three of them were present," the lawyer said, attributing the poor turnout to insufficient publicity.

She added that the lawyers could have used the dialogue as an opportunity to present their views on human rights issues or other topics.

"The minister is in charge of parliamentary affairs, an important portfolio. I feel rather embarrassed for him. It was a waste of his time. Maybe we should have gone to Parliament to meet him instead if only 20 people are keen," she said.

However, Bar Council human rights committee member Edmund Bon disagrees.

He claimed lawyers lacked interest in the first place because they do not feel "the relevance of the minister to their needs".

"They do not think that the minister is in a position to help members of the Bar. They also do not see the point of going because Mohd Nazri is known for taking the government's stance on the ISA," said Bon who was present at Thursday's discussion. He described the dialogue as "disappointing" because of the low attendance.

'Waste of time'

Bon also compared Thursday's event with the one held with Anwar Ibrahim last November where 300 lawyers turned up.

"The difference is that people were willing to come and listen to what Anwar had to say because he represents that hope for reform," he said.

Another lawyer said she attended the session with the minister because she wanted to know his views on human rights but "unfortunately, it was all a waste of time".

Lawyer Fahri Azzat who chose not to attend the dialogue said he could not agree with the minister's comments in the past that the concept of separation of powers is 'too idealistic' to be implemented in the country.

"I don't expect anything to happen from someone who is saying there is no rule of law in Malaysia. I would rather be doing something else than to go and listen to something that may possibly make me angrier," he told malaysiakini .

"It was just a PR exercise. Is the dialogue going to take anything further? I doubt it. At the end of it all, the minister has to stick to the government line," the lawyer added.