Lawyer-cum-politician R Sivarasa will know on July 17 the outcome of his application to challenge the validity of a provision in the legal profession law which bars political party officials from holding office in the Bar Council.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Faiza Tamby Chik set the date for decision after hearing submissions from Sivarasa's lawyer Tommy Thomas and senior federal counsel Azahar Mohamed, who represented the government.

Sivarasa, appointed PRM vice-president on July 14, 2001, filed for a judicial review to challenge Section 46A of the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA). The law prohibits, among others, office bearers of political parties from being a member of the Bar Council.

In naming the Bar Council and the government as respondents, Sivarasa is also seeking a declaration that he was still a Bar Council member for the 2001-2002 term.

Faiza had earlier dismissed Sivarasa's application on technicalities but following an appeal on Jan 30, the Court of Appeal set aside the judge's decision and ordered him to hear the merits of the case.

This morning, Thomas argued that Section 46 of the LPA was in breach of Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution, which ensures "a citizen's right to stand for election as an office bearer in all of the associations that he has joined and to hold office in all the associations simultaneously".

He said the LPA provision was also in breach of Articles 8 and 5 of the Constitution because it results in unfair discrimination and deprives a citizen of personal liberty.

"The applicant's (Sivarasa's) fundamental freedoms are directly affected because the provision (in the LPA) has rendered the exercise of these fundamental rights ineffective or illusory, because he is not permitted to hold the office of vice-president in Parti Rakyat Malaysia and be an office member of the Bar Council simultaneously," said Thomas.

'Conflict of interest'

In his reply, Azahar urged the court to dismiss Sivarasa's judicial review application with costs, arguing that the condition imposed by the LPA "does not violate the fundamental right to form an association".

While all lawyers who have been admitted as advocates and solicitors have the right to become members of the Malaysian Bar, he said not all members of the Bar have the right to hold office in the Bar Council.

He said the LPA provision seeks to prevent a politician from acting in a manner that would bring his public duties "as members of the Bar Council" into conflict with his political interest.

"We submit that the Bar Council responsible as a governing body for members of the legal profession, consisting of some 10,000 members, should consist of members who are professional, independent and responsible," he said.

He added that the issue is not whether there would be an actual conflict of interest but that it must not be perceived that a potential conflict of interest would exist.

Sivarasa, 44, is a partner in a law firm in Kuala Lumpur. He joined PRM in 1999 and was appointed a vice-president last year.