KUALA LUMPUR: Proficiency in both English and Malay is a must for local lawyers to match international standards, says M. Kulasegaran.
The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said this was due to most legal materials, even in Malaysia, being in English and especially for local lawyers to be able to take part in international arbitrations.
“We need those on par with foreign lawyers who use English to engage in discussions about agreements and so on,” he told Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12).
He was responding to a question from Dr Abdul Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun) over concerns that local lawyers who graduated overseas may lack proficiency in the Malay language.
To this, Kulasegaran said such concerns were unfounded with many of such lawyers instead being fluent in Malay based on his personal experience.
“Many of them are actually able to conduct cross-examinations effectively.
“Even if there were lawyers with issues like this, clients would just not hire them for their cases as cross-examination requires them to be well-versed in the matter.
“If someone is not fluent, I’m not sure they can be a lawyer who can go to court,” he said.
He added that Malay was the mandatory language in Malaysian courts and that English was used only in certain specific situations.
