COMMENT | Protect integrity, independence of our legal institutions
COMMENT | As junior members of the legal profession, many of us, unfortunately, find ourselves helplessly drifting away from the idealistic view of the profession that we may have pictured during the course of our studies and our subsequent training to be admitted as advocates and solicitors of the High Court of Malaya.
The slow erosion of our idealistic view of the profession and its noble image may have been driven by a growing realisation of the practical realities and difficulties that plague our profession due to the existence of a myriad of problems, some of which seem to have no end or solution in sight despite multiple complaints over the years (problems such as touting, underpaying, and toxic workplace culture).
Despite this, we still hold in high regard the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of our legal institutions.
However, the recent allegations involving...
COMMENT | As junior members of the legal profession, many of us, unfortunately, find ourselves helplessly drifting away from the idealistic view of the profession that we may have pictured during the course of our studies and our subsequent training to be admitted as advocates and solicitors of the High Court of Malaya.
The slow erosion of our idealistic view of the profession and its noble image may have been driven by a growing realisation of the practical realities and difficulties that plague our profession due to the existence of a myriad of problems, some of which seem to have no end or solution in sight despite multiple complaints over the years (problems such as touting, underpaying, and toxic workplace culture).
Despite this, we still hold in high regard the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of our legal institutions.
However, the recent allegations involving two prominent lawyers surfacing last week are very serious and if true, would suggest that the institutional pillar which forms the backbone of our democracy and the administration of justice in our country is compromised.
While it is difficult and even improper to ascertain the truth of the recent allegations at this point in time, we note that 13 days after the chief justice lodged a police report on June 7 and four days after this matter was first reported by Free Malaysia Today on June 17, the president of the Malaysian Bar issued a statement to the media that while the Bar would not tolerate “such unscrupulous and unethical behaviour”, it shall leave the matter to the police to conduct a thorough investigation.
Several hours later, Sarawak Report published an article, stating the names of the two prominent lawyers as well as exhibiting the purported screenshots that formed the basis of the chief justice’s police report.
We will not be dwelling on the identity of these two prominent lawyers, both of whom have since made police reports denying the allegations against them.
We do, however, note the important role that one of these prominent lawyers has played in the Malaysian Bar in the past and would like to express our concern that the severity of these allegations will likely diminish the public perception of our judiciary and erode public trust in the Malaysian Bar.
While the Young Lawyers Movement supports and commends the Bar president for publicly condemning these alleged unethical actions, we believe the Malaysian Bar cannot simply pay lip service to the issue.
We call upon the Bar Council to look into these allegations and if necessary, go a step further by considering making a complaint of its own to the Disciplinary Board against the relevant lawyers, as allowed by Section 99(3) of the Legal Profession Act 1976.
We believe that it is only with such action that faith in the Malaysian Bar can be guaranteed and the necessary trust in our justice system can be rekindled.
If not now when?
We note this is not the first time allegations concerning judicial impropriety have been made. Only two years ago, Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer affirmed an affidavit alleging judicial and constitutional misconduct in the judiciary.
We also recall the various controversies involving former lawyer VK Lingam, most notoriously his 2002 video clip boasting of illegally brokering judicial appointments, but also his involvement in the infamous 1995 Ayer Molek case and his 1994 holidaying with then-chief justice Eusoff Chin.
Only several years before that, the case of the 1987 Umno election sparked a judicial crisis that saw the suspension of five then-Supreme Court judges and the ouster of the then-lord president.
Just as the Malaysian Bar previously advocated for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the 2002 VK Lingam video clip, commenced disciplinary proceedings against Lingam, and called for another RCI into Hamid Sultan Abu Backer’s allegations, we believe a consistent approach must also be undertaken today.
We call on the Bar to continue its campaign for a wide RCI on the issue of judicial integrity and recommended reforms.
The time is ripe for the Malaysian Bar to lead the way and address these issues without fear or favour.
There has long been talk about case-fixing and corruption and we believe the time is apt for the Malaysian Bar to start addressing these issues by taking a serious look at itself and making an active effort to uncover the extent to which the rot exists in the legal profession and confront the uncomfortable truth of its role in enabling these actions (if true) to happen.
As the future torchbearers of the profession, we lend our support to the Malaysian Bar and wish to see a Malaysian Bar with the necessary leadership we need in times such as these, where the very nature of the work we do as a collective is put into question.
A case where the outcome is fixed is a farcical performance that renders the work we do moot and illusory. We are not mere puppets on a stage and the administration of justice is not entertainment.
As such, we implore the relevant authorities to get to the bottom of this controversy and encourage the Malaysian Bar to go further in its actions to address these issues.
The views expressed here are those of the authors/contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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