Senior members of the Bar Council serving for 15 years or more may lose their eligibility for re-election next year if the proposed resolution to limit the tenure of council members is accepted by lawyers at the Malaysian Bar annual general assembly (AGM) this Saturday.

The resolution, proposed by Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer K Shanmuga to be tabled at the AGM, also seeks to prevent past presidents from sitting in the Bar Council and to confine the tenure of chairpersons of the various committees in the council.

In a proposal submitted to the council, Shanmuga said the proposed resolution is mooted to "bring about a better system of management of the Malaysian Bar".

"It is the wish of the Bar that there be continual refreshing of the composition of the Bar Council through the democratic process so that fresh ideas and approaches are constantly brought to the management and the leadership of the Bar."

The 36-member council manages the affairs and executes the function of the 11,000 lawyers in the Malaysian Bar. Twelve members are voted by members while another 22 represent each state Bar. The immediate past president and vice president automatically qualify as council members.

Apart from the two-year limit for the Bar Council president position, there is no time-limit to prevent anyone from being re-elected or re-appointed as one of the 36 office bearers in the council.

As a result, most of the Malaysian Bar office bearers have sat in the council between 10 and 20 years. These members will then be appointed to chair the various committees that carry out law- related activities like seminars, dialogues and exhibitions.

A copy of the resolutions revealed that among the resolutions proposed is that a member of the Bar who has served in the council for five years shall not offer himself as a candidate in an election until a period of at least three years has elapsed from the expiry of his last term in office.

It is also proposed that a member of the Bar who has served the council for 15 years or more in aggregate should not be eligible for further election or appointment.

"The chairperson of any committee of the council shall not be appointed as chairperson of that committee for more than three continuos years and nor shall he be appointed as chairperson of that committee for more than 10 years in aggregate," stated the proposal.

However, it was also proposed that the council would have the discretion to appoint any Bar member to head a committee "if it is considered that the Bar requires his particular expertise and leadership and there is no other suitable member able and willing".

The proposal may hit a sore note among senior lawyers who are expected to object the proposal during the AGM.

'Blatant disrespect'

A senior lawyer who declined to be named described the proposal as a "blatant disrespect to senior members who had been sincerely serving the Bar".

"It should not matter how long they have been there as long his or her work has ben effective. I don't think there is any of the senior council members who is not deserving of the post given to them. I think the younger lawyers eager to take up the posts should learn to be more patient."

Shanmuga when contacted assured that the proposal is not meant to belittle the senior office bearers but rather to enhance the spirit of democracy in the Malaysian Bar.

"This resolution is moved not because of a lack of confidence or animosity on our part towards the current members of the Bar Council, many of whom serve the Malaysian Bar with great diligence. Neither is it an attack on experienced or senior lawyers, but, there are compelling reasons, on points of principle and for the improvement of the Bar generally, to limit the number of years members can sit on the Bar Council."

Furthermore, he said that the inherent advantages of an incumbent can easily be abused.

"Our system of democracy is one which are supposed to govern ourselves. Instead of concentrating on doing things for the primary purpose of getting re-elected, a person holding elected office is able to discharge his duties more independently if he knows he can only be there for a definite period of time."

"A situation should also not arise where members of the Bar feel estranged from its governing body. By permitting members to continually be re-elected the gradual feeling of an 'us and them' between the council and the Bar will be forged," he added.

Meanwhile, other resolutions to be tabled at the AGM include one proposed by Charles Hector which calls on the Bar to eliminate all forms of discrimination against lawyers.

The proposal condemned the practices of certain private companies, banks and establishments that impose racial quotas on law firms before retaining its services.

It urges the Bar to condemn any institution that uses such practices and that it shall take active steps in ending such discriminatory practice.

Another popular proposal is the call for the council to decrease the RM100 building fund fee imposed on lawyers RM10.