A minister took a swipe at the Bar Council for championing the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) when its own accountability was at stake.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz was commenting on the discovery of forged ballot papers found in the just-concluded Bar Council elections.

"We heard the Bar Council is pursuing the formation of the IPCMC, but where is their own accountability and integrity?" he asked.

The 12,000-strong legal professional body has spearheaded the civil society's campaign to pressure the government to form the IPCMC - an independent police watchdog.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Nazri, who is also de facto law minister, said the election scandal has put the integrity of lawyers at stake.

"A thorough investigation must be done. It cannot be treated as a frivolous matter as lawyers are seen as trustworthy and have a respectable standing in society.

"The Bar Council must come clean and get to the bottom of this matter because what is at stake now is the integrity of lawyers," he added.

Expressing shock over the incident, Nazri said it should not have happened and urged the Bar Council "not to hide anything".

The council must uphold transparency and declare the election results as soon as possible, he added.

Wake-up call

To a question, Nazri - who is a trained lawyer - said it was "debatable" as to what the motive was behind the forgery or whether it was an act of sabotage or merely an attempt to win votes.

However, he said the incident should serve as a wake-up call for legal practitioners.

He said for a long time, most lawyers have showed little concern over the council's elections and always 'took it for granted'.

"Suddenly now the posts are so sought after to the extent that they are even prepared to forge the ballot papers. So don't take the elections lightly," he added.

During the counting process last Friday, the three election scrutineers appointed by the council found 50 forged ballot papers among the 3,370 postal ballots received from lawyers throughout the country in its 2007/2008 council election.

Serial numbers for ballots issued for the election ran from 0001 to 12,353, but the discovery of 50 ballot papers with numbers ranging from 12,810 to 12,879 prompted the scrutineers to recommend to the council to declare the poll null and void and call for a fresh election.

However, any final decision on the annulment is in the council's hand. The council had filed a police report over the incident on Sunday.

First time in history

It was the first time in the council's 59-year history that fraud has been discovered in its election. This year's election, which closed last Thursday, saw 34 candidates vying for 12 positions.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Abdul Razak also expressed shock over the matter.

Meanwhile, Bar Council president Yeo Yang Poh has declined to comment further on the incident and said a press conference would be held on Saturday.

Yeo earlier said the council was saddened with the incident but could not determine who was behind the act or whether the culprits were Malaysian Bar members.