Johor lawyers are always ready to render assistance to critics who find themselves in hot water for allegedly disparaging the state royalty, said the Johore Bar Committee.

Committee chairman S Gunasegaran said if Johor lawyers were not available, the committee would seek assistance from the Bar Council in Kualal Lumpur.

“As far as I know, none of the cases (in Johor) went unrepresented. He or she will always be represented from lawyers either from Johor or Kuala Lumpur," Gunasegaran told Malaysiakini when contacted yesterday.

He was responding to human rights organisation Suaram's complaints on the difficulty of getting Johor lawyers to take on such cases.

“Sometimes it may be difficult to engage lawyers in Johor; (in such situation) we will seek the assistance of the Bar Council, which will contact the National Legal Aid Foundation (NLAF) to send down a lawyer to represent them.

“There is no such thing that none of them (suspect or accused) are not being represented,” said Gunasegaran.

Set up in 2011, NLAF aims to provide legal assistance in criminal cases including syariah criminal matters during arrest, remand and bail application.

The NLAF will conduct a means test to determine who is eligible for legal representation at the trial stage.

Gunasegaran said that there are two stages – remand and trial – for cases related to criticism of the Johor royalty.

He said for both stages, the NLAF Johor chapter would provide legal aid if the suspect or accused did not appoint their own lawyers.

“Even at times when Johor lawyers were not available, the Johore Bar Committee would contact the Bar Council to arrange for lawyers from other states to provide legal representation.

“In some cases, the accused have engaged their own lawyers from Kuala Lumpur or elsewhere.”

For those who need legal aid, they can contact the Johor legal aid centre hotline at 07-2235698.

Yesterday, Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said Suaram received at least 13 cases related to criticism of the royalty in the first half of 2016.

However, it faced numerous challenges including receiving threats on its website and difficulties in engaging Johor lawyers.