Can retired judge Gopal Sri Ram act as Anwar’s lawyer? Bar Council asked

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 ― A group of lawyers and activists today quizzed the Bar Council over its stand on retired Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram taking on the role of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s counsel in his Sodomy II appeal.

The group, which includes Perkasa member Datuk Zulkifli Noordin who is also a lawyer, noted that the Malaysian Bar had on March 15 this year passed a resolution that supposedly prohibits ex-judges from showing up in court for their clients.

“We therefore urge the Bar Council to issue a statement in line with their resolution passed at their 68th AGM.

“The Bar Council's silence is a contradiction of their own commitment to uphold justice without fear or favour,” the group said in a statement that was signed off by several lawyers including Faidhur Rahman Abdul Hadi, Mohd Khairul Azam Bin Abdul Aziz, Azril Mohd Amin and several activists.

However, a check on the Malaysian Bar’s website showed that the resolution only stated that “a retired judge of the superior courts should be prohibited or restricted by law from appearing as counsel in court”, but did not actually bar them from doing so.

The March 15 resolution also said the Bar Council needs to propose an amendment to the Legal Profession Act 1976 to the Attorney-General to achieve the objective of restricting former judges from representing clients in court.

The Malaysian Bar had also this March resolved that the Bar Council should take all reasonable steps to educate the public on the reasons for the proposed amendment to the law.

Today, the group of lawyers and activists also claimed that the Bar Council was acting in an allegedly “hypocritical” manner, suggesting that the governing body of lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia was choosing to stay silent because of Anwar.

“It is not proper for the Bar Council to have two sets of principles that differ when Anwar Ibrahim is involved and the credibility of the legal profession is surely tarnished by such hypocritical actions,” the group claimed.

The 16 others who signed their names in today’s statement include lawyers Datuk Abu Bakar As-Sidek Mohd Sidek.

Yesterday, Gopal unexpectedly showed up as Anwar’s lead counsel for the Federal Court hearing of the PKR de facto politician’s appeal against a conviction and five-year-jail sentence started.

Gopal had previously caused a debate over whether retired judges could appear in court before their former colleagues or judges in the lower courts, but the Federal Court last September ruled that there was no basis to deny him from acting as a counsel.