The issue appears to have fizzled out but Bar Council chairperson Yeo Yang Poh expressed hope that the government would reach a concrete decision on the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) before the year is out.

Yeo has been instrumental in keeping the pressure on the government and police to form the IPCMC since the nude squat incident last year.

He was also the leading voice in one of the most politically charged story this year - to review the 1988 judicial crisis.

In part one of this two-part interview, the Malacca-born lawyer speaks to malaysiakini on the Bar Council's continuous support for the review of the judicial crisis and his hopes that the IPCMC would materialise before the year is over.

Malaysiakini: Does the Bar Council identify itself with activism of any kind?

Yeo: The Bar Council has always been active in issues related to human rights, society, law, the legal system and justice system and so on and this is not the only work we do but an important part of the things that we do and this is also the part that gives the Bar Council a lot of voice in society and a lot of meaning as an institution.

It has been very quiet on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) issue. Is the Council pursuing it further?

We are of course disappointed that it still has not been set up. We are aware there are resistance from the police. We are also aware that there are a few issues that the police generally are concerned about. One of them we actually agree with, is the provision for appeal to a court by a police personnel who is found guilty of misconduct is currently missing and should be built in. That we are in total agreement with the police but that is no excuse or reason to not want the IPCMC or to delay its implementation. What it only means is that it needs to be fine tuned. So a few procedures be provided and then let the IPCMC be formed.

At the moment, we have the signatures of 11,000 individuals and we also have about 300 organisational endorsements. In fact we are intending to present the organisational endorsements to the prime minister some time in November after Hari Raya. We will continue with the issue. No matter how long it will take, the Bar and I believe the public will also continue to call for its formation until it finally happens.

Do you expect a different response from the prime minister or do you think he'll give you the same answer over and over again?

That actually is not for me to guess. The PM has always said yes, of course the suggestion came from the PM himself. What we would like to see that it is formed promptly rather than having further delays.

And what about the new Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Musa Hassan's stand on the IPCMC?

From what I gather from public statements made by the new IGP and when he was the deputy IGP, he had no objections to the idea of an IPCMC. But he said that the police are concerned with certain aspects so I believe that the concept of an external oversight body is generally acceptable and is supported by the PM so we hope that it would be a reality very soon.

So then, has the Bar Council liaised with the police on those issues they are not happy with?

We have, we have. The position they have put across to us is that they have already forwarded their views to the government and they would leave it at that for the time being. So that is the position that I understand they are taking.

How urgent is the IPCMC to the Bar Council?

It's not how urgent it is to the Bar Council but to the country. Well, I think it is extremely urgent. It is like asking how urgent is good health to you or me. For example if the doctor tells me I must take less sugar the question is when should I start? The doctor would say immediately because the earlier you start the better isn't it? ( Laughs )

Since the IGP said he has reviewed the IPCMC and has passed it to the government, when do you think the government should decide on it?

We really hope to see something being done by 2007. That would be a very good new year present for the Malaysian people.

The idea of reviewing the 1988 judicial crisis has been shot down by the government. Since the call in mid-August, how 'popular' are you and also the Bar Council?

Popularity has never been the Bar Council's objective nor mine. What the Bar Council has always done is that we just contribute, give our views and advocate things that we feel are right in accordance with our views and principles and so on.

In mid-August, how did you suddenly come up with the idea of reopening the judicial crisis for revision?

It is not 'suddenly'. For a lot of members of the bar including myself we always see 1988 as an episode that should be corrected one day and history must be put right. Why August? Of course there are contributing factors such as the developments at that time. In August, if you recall, (there was) a lot of discussion about comparisons between the past and the current (administration).

And so it is partly because we thought 'hey we're comparing the present and the past. What about 1988?' - which is such an important event in the past where in our view, the whole truth has not come out. It seems to be a very opportune time to bring it up.

Since we're revisiting things done two years ago or in the previous administration, this is one of the things to me, something that I believe has to be done in some point of history. In August, the environment seemed right at that time.

There is an allegations that the heated row between Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad allowed the Bar Council to jump in and take the opportunity to bring up this issue? Why wasn't this done last year or the year before?

That is most certainly not true and that has never entered my mind. If that suggestion has any truth in it then why is it so quickly shot down by the government ( laughs ). And as to why not last year or next year - you can ask the same question about anything if you want to review something that has occurred quite some time ago.

As I said, the reason is that we don't see this as a sudden thing, we know it has to be done at some stage. So in August, we felt this was the correct thing to do - since we're discussing about things that happened in the past, please don't forget 1988. Something very unusual happened in 1988.

What were you actually doing in 1988?

I was a lawyer. I participated in a lot of discussion so I had a lot of personal knowledge as to what happened at that time.

Has (former Lord President) Salleh Abas been in contact with the Bar Council or in personal contact with you?

No, we're not frequently in touch, so to speak. Sometimes we might be at the same function but no, there's no contact.

Tomorrow: Yeo speaks about the Bar Council's internal division and the state of Malaysia's current legal system.