Former M'sian Bar presidents call for a ‘Walk for Justice’

Datuk Mah Weng Kwai

PETALING JAYA: A group of former Malaysian Bar presidents are calling the current leadership of the Bar Council to hold a "Walk for Justice" to defend the judiciary institution against alleged intimidation.

In a petition, they said certain quarters in recent events had shown total disregard for the independence of the judiciary, and there had been several occasions of alleged intimidation.

"It is time for the Bar to once again rise and fearlessly defend the institution of the judiciary. It is time to walk.

"We, undersigned members of the Bar, urged the Bar Council to organise a walk urgently to send a clear message to those that seek to interfere with the judiciary that this interference cannot be countenanced as it is a blatant violation of the rule of law," they said.

The petition was signed by former Malaysian Bar presidents - Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, Steven Thiru, Datuk Lim Chee Wee, Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari.

The petition was posted in a Google Docs format and it was disseminated among the legal fraternity where official members of the Malaysian Bar can leave their full name and Bar Council membership number as a sign of support.

When contacted, Mah, Steven, Lim, Yeo and Ambiga, confirmed the authenticity of the petition.

"It's a call by the past presidents of the Malaysian Bar to organise a walk in support of the judiciary," said Mah when contacted.

The protest by the former Malaysian Bar presidents came following the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigations into Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

MACC's investigations followed claims by blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, alleging that there were funds transferred to Mohd Nazlan's account during his time as the group general counsel and company secretary of Maybank.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki had said the probe was launched due to a report lodged over the issue.

Mohd Nazlan was the judge who convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the misappropriation of RM42mil of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.

He lodged a police report against Raja Petra on April 21, denying the accusations which he said were malicious, baseless and aimed at tarnishing his credibility as a judge.

Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in her speech at a recent swearing-in ceremony of newly-appointed High Court, said the recent public disapproval against high profile cases had "gone overboard".

Although Tengku Maimun did not zero into any particular case, she made clear that the public, including politicians, were free to criticise the judiciary to a certain extent, but it did not mean that they could level scurrilous attacks against the judiciary or a particular judge.

In 2007, about 2,000 lawyers led by Ambiga, the then Bar Council president, walked in protest against allegations of judicial interference following a controversial leaked audio recording involving VK Lingam.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry ensued, confirming the recording's authenticity and subsequently led to the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission.