Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz has thrown his support behind the lobby to repeal Section 46A of the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA) which bars politicians and young lawyers from holding a post in the Bar Council.

In his winding-up speech on the motion of thanks to the King at the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, Nazri lauded the efforts to have the provision repealed as it promotes "dichotomy" between young and senior lawyers and gave his commitment to refer the matter to the cabinet.

He also made a promise to refer to the cabinet the lawyers' perennial problem in getting a quorum for the Malaysian Bar's annual general assembly (AGM) and described the one-fifth quota as "impractical".

He made the statements in response to questions by DAP's parliamentarian M Kula Segaran from Ipoh Barat who in his motions of thanks (on March 29) called on the government to amend the unfair provisions in the LPA which controls the activities of lawyers and regulates the 36-member council.

"I feel that the proposal (to repeal section 46A of the LPA) is appropriate. I am of the view that no organisations - political or otherwise- should have such regulations because it would promote dichotomy among members where those below seven years are barred from holding a post in the Council.

"After all, they are already legitimate members of the Bar. If they are already members, why can't they hold posts?" said the minister.

'Outdated and impractical'

On the quorum issue, Nazri said the quota - as provided under Section 67 of the LPA- was not only impractical in the present time but also outdated.

"...There are now 13,000 lawyers and if the one-fifth quota is to be followed, at least 2,600 members are required to attend an AGM. If they hold the meeting where can we place them all...at the Bukit Jalil (National) Stadium or the Merdeka Stadium? This provision is clearly outdated," he added.

The minister said he would refer both issues to the cabinet for serious consideration as soon after the Bar Council submits a report to confirm its support for the repeal of both provisions.

"I will bring up the matter to the minister in charge of laws. If it's true that the lawyers themselves want to do away with the laws and are seeking for the quorum to be lowered, then, I believe the government will not take a different view," he added.

At this juncture, Kula Segaran pointed out to him that the council has not only stamped its approval on the efforts to repeal both provisions but has also forwarded its views to the Attorney General's Chambers and the government.

However, Nazri replied that a copy of the council's resolutions on the two issues would make it easier for him to refer the matter to the cabinet and thus expediting government action.

Morale booster

Meanwhile, Bar Council chairperson Yeo Yang Poh welcomed the minister's support and said he hoped to hold a meeting with him to discuss the matter further.

"We will take steps to get in touch with the minister and see him to discuss the steps that need to be take to repeal and amend the relevant provisions. We hope to do this in the near future so that things can be done expeditiously," he said when contacted.

Yeo said the development would enable the council to focus its efforts to amend "hundreds of other outdated provisions in the LPA".

"But I must stress that although this development is small in terms of quantity, it is one of the most important issues that we have addressing," he added.

Lawyer Edmund Bon, who has been actively involved in the campaign to abolish Section 46A, said the news serves as a morale booster to all lawyers who want to see the provision repealed.

"It shows that the government in principle agrees to the removal of section 46A and also to an amendment to the quorum requirement for the Bar's AGM," he said.

Section 46A has been a thorn in the side of young lawyers - forming almost two-third of the total members of the Bar- who long wanted to be represented in the governing process.

In 2003, young lawyers had launched a nationwide campaign calling for the abolishment of the provision and their efforts were subsequently endorsed by the council.

The provision has also effectively shut out lawyers who are parliamentarians, state assembly of representatives and trade union office bearers, from holding office in the council.

Attempts to challenge the provision have also failed. The last attempt was made in 2002 by Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice president R Sivarasa, then an office bearer of Parti Rakyat Malaysia.

Lawyers are also plagued by the difficulty to obtain the one-fifth quorum quota which has caused repeated postponements of the Bar's AGM.

The issue has also split the Bar following the Council's recent decision to proceed with the AGM despite failing to secure the one-fifth quorum quota thus breaking away from its its conventional legal interpretation on the matter.