Chong calls on legal practitioners to reject Legal Profession Bill 2019

KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen has called upon legal practitioners in Sarawak to reject the Legal Profession Bill 2019.

He said that he had clarified with defacto Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Kiong, who confirmed that the now-viral new draft of of the Legal Profession Bill was merely a draft proposed by the Bar Council for feedback amongst the stakeholders.

“This draft has not obtained any endorsement of the PH Government. Of particular concern raised by the Sarawak legal fraternity about the new draft bill are the following two clauses.

“1( 2) The Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of the different parts or provisions of this Act and different dates may be appointed for the coming into operation of this Act in West Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

“( 2) This Act shall apply throughout Malaysia but shall only be made applicable to Sabah and Sarawak with such modifications as the Yang diPertuan Agong may by order make, and such order shall be published in the Gazette.”

“Many see it as an attempt to encroach upon Sarawak’s rights as currently the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA 1976) is not applicable to Sarawak and Sarawak’s legal profession is governed under the Advocate Ordinance Sarawak 1953 which sets out very different criteria for admission to practise as a lawyer,” he said in a press statement today.

Chong pointed out that the current LPA 1976 also contains the two above same sections, word for word.

“So far, as the application of the Act is concerned, this proposed draft bill does not add anything extra into the current LPA 1976.

“Nonetheless, I have conveyed to Datuk Liew the stand of Sarawak legal profession that we do not want the LPA to be extended to Sarawak.

“Since the Bar Council is drafting a new LPA to replace the current LPA 1976 and that we have no intention to have the LPA (both existing or the new one) to be extended to Sarawak, I do propose that the Sarawak Advocates Association takes this opportunity to write to its counterpart in West Malaysia, the Bar Council, to suggest the following:

“To delete the words “, Sabah and Sarawak” from clause 1( 2). Also, to replace clause 2 with “This Act shall apply throughout West Malaysia Only” and to delete clause 211(2) which provide for the repeal of the Advocates Ordinance of Sarawak and Advocates Ordinance of Sabah,” he elaborated at length.

Chong added that on his part he will help to ensure that this suggestion to exclude Sarawak and Sabah from the application of the LPA come true.

“Let us stand together to defend the rights of the Sarawak legal profession as provided in the Federal Constitution when we formed Malaysia in 1963,” he said.