Twenty-five years after the Malaysian Bar first passed a resolution condemning a legal provision which disqualifies junior lawyers and politicians from being elected into the Bar Council, a serious effort is finally being made to remove the clause.

On Sept 5, the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee will launch a campaign to get backing from lawyers and the public to have section 46A dropped from the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA) on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

The LPA controls the activities of lawyers and regulates the Bar Council, the 36-member body which manages the affairs and executes the functions of the Malaysian Bar.

Section 46A of the LPA bars lawyers with less than seven years' experience, members of parliament, state assembly representatives, and office-bearers in trades union and political parties from being elected as Bar Council members.