Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said has defended the proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA), which had previously been criticised for eroding the independence of the Malaysian Bar.

"The statements released by several parties which claimed that the proposed amendments to the LPA is being done so that the Malaysian government can interfere in the Bar Council is inaccurate.

"These statements also show a certain immaturity and lack of respect for the legislative system in the country," the newly minted de facto law minister said in a statement today.

She said that the amendments are still being drafted and it is unfair for outsiders to interfere by releasing statements on the matter.

The principle of non-interference in the matters of other countries should be held by all countries, Azalina said.

She also pointed out that there are many stages in the process of bringing a proposed amendment to the cabinet and then to be passed by the Parliament, adding that the amendments were proposed after discussion with all the stakeholders including the Bar Council.

"Besides, what the Bar Council brought up earlier has no basis because the government has no wish to control that body.

"Instead, the amendments were suggested in line with Section 42(1)(I) of Act 166, which is to improve the social relationships and interactions among the members and between the members and others who are involved in law administration in Malaysia," Azalina explained.

Bar must 'remain steadfast' to its purpose

The Bar Council should remain steadfast to their purpose of their organisation, which is to protect the interests of the legal profession, she said.

Azalina hoped that the Bar Council will continue to play their part in a professional and responsible manner for their members.

"I would like to stress that these proposed amendments to the LPA do not threaten the integrity and independence of lawyers," she said.

Earlier today, the Australian Bar Association (ABA) had written an open letter to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak expressing their grave concerns regarding the proposed amendments to the LPA.

They pointed out that the proposed amendments include a provision to grant the minister in charge of legal affairs the power to appoint two members of the Bar onto the Bar Council and that these appointees will represent the government.

"This proposed amendment would effectively not only give the attorney-general the opportunity to receive reports on the deliberations and actions of this independent institution but, importantly, it also provides the opportunity to influence those deliberations and actions," said ABA president Patrick O'Sullivan in the open letter.

He said that the UN Basic Principles on the role of lawyers require governments to ensure that lawyers can perform their duties without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.

The principles, O'Sullivan added, also state that “lawyers shall be entitled to form and join self-governing professional associations”, and that “the executive body of such associations should be elected by its members and exercise its functions without external interference”.

The independence of the Malaysian Bar thus far has benefited the people of Malaysia for many years, he said, and under the new amendments, their ability to address controversial issues that are at odds with the government would be compromised.

"As a consequence, the interests of the people of Malaysia would be adversely affected.

"(ABA) supports the ongoing independence of Malaysia’s legal profession and respectfully requests the government to reconsider the proposed amendments which threaten the independence of the Malaysian Bar," he said.

Besides the ABA, the German Federal Bar, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the Law Society of New South Wales, Australia, have all expressed concern over the proposed LPA amendments, which is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament in October.

Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru had warned of a severe threat against the independence of the Bar as Putrajaya plans drastic changes to the Act.

'Unprecedented interference'

In a separate statement, electoral watchdog Bersih said it too was "greatly alarmed" by the proposed amendments, adding that there has been "unprecedented interference" in the independence of public institutions in the past year.

Bersih cited the examples of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Parliamentary Committees and the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"The proposed amendments to the LPA appear to be an attempt by the government to muzzle the Bar Council, which has spoken up against abuse of power.

"The attack on the Bar Council’s independence is an attack on democracy itself. It is unwarranted, unwelcome and wholly unnecessary.

"The doctrine of separation of powers of the executive, legislature and judiciary must be preserved and the actions by the executive to curtail the Bar Council and its independence is a clear violation of this doctrine," Bersih said in its statement.

It called for the proposed amendments to be withdrawn and for the government to instead focus on strengthening the public institutions.