Photo: Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: Legal aid should be fine-tuned, not just for effective representation but also to ensure better use of resources, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) said she had a discussion with the Bar Council recently on how best legal aid should be provided to those in need.
She said that a national conference would be held on the subject to seek views and opinions of stakeholders and interested parties before a proposal could be brought to the Cabinet.
"We need to clearly spell out legal aid aspects concerning civil and criminal cases. There will be a need for policy changes," she said at the department's monthly gathering and Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house on Tuesday (April 23).
Azalina said that financial allocation provided to the National Legal Aid Foundation for the past 10 years amounted to RM83mil, adding that most cases it took up involved remand.
"We need to look at which aspect of a case should we provide legal aid, whether it is during trial, charge, sentencing or remand," she added.
Azalina said that certain countries practice for legal assistance to be given to criminal cases while civil cases be handled by non-governmental organisations.
"This is the question that we must look into, whether assistance should be focused on criminal cases.
"Another aspect that should be reviewed is whether the legal aid bureau be changed to the public defender’s office and if legal aid be divided between the government and the Bar Council (to handle)," she added.
"All these must be looked into to ensure that government expenditure in providing legal aid is well spent and will not result in wastage," she said.
