KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — A group of young lawyers wants the Malaysian Bar to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to reverse the imposition of compulsory professional training along with fines on junior lawyers.
Kamal Hadi Ahmad Zaki, a spokesman for the group, said it was “unfair” for the Malaysian Bar to only penalise lawyers with five years’ experience or less, if they failed to meet the minimum points for continuing professional development (CPD).
“We are ok with CPD, I think it’s good for development of young lawyers in terms of professionalism. But we are against imposition of fine and imposition of mandatory (requirement) to young lawyers only,” the 32-year-old lawyer told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview.
“I think that is unfair, it is against democratic principles, it is prejudicial to only a segment of members of the Bar.
“The Bar has been championing equality, equal rights for all other citizens, but to itself, the Bar has failed to impose and uphold these principles towards its own members. The current line-up of the Bar Council has failed these young lawyers,” he claimed.
A motion to introduce the mandatory requirement with fines for young lawyers was passed by a narrow margin of only one vote with 295 in favour at the Malaysian Bar’s annual general meeting last month.
Dissatisfied with the new requirement, Kamal Hadi said his group of around 15 lawyers decided about two weeks ago to launch a signature drive among lawyers to gather the minimum number of 150 signatures before they can ask for an EGM.
He said over 200 had signed up as at March 30.
The Kuala Lumpur-based legal practitioner said the group is targeting mid-April to formally request the Malaysian Bar to fix a date for the EGM, noting that the professional body for lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia is required to do so by the Legal Profession Act and related rules once the 150-member threshold is met.
“The minimum attendance or quorum for EGM is 500 lawyers, we are already engaging a few Bar members from other states apart from KL and Selangor to join the EGM,” he said.
At the planned EGM, the group will submit its motion to abolish both the mandatory requirement and fine for the CPD courses on young lawyers alone, he said.
Kamal Hadi said the initiative by a “consortium” of around 15 young lawyers has received the support of several senior lawyers from around the peninsula.
“Our consortium of lawyers is not only from KL, we have backing from Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Malacca… We are engaging Pahang Bar and Malacca Bar,” he said.
Kamal Hadi said the group has also sought the aid of a federal lawmaker to raise the alleged misconduct of the Malaysian Bar that he purported to have prejudiced the future” of young lawyers and young law firm owners in Parliament.
He said a press conference with the MP, whom he declined to name, will be held sometime this month before his group submits its motion for an EGM.
Kamal Hadi claimed that young lawyers already work long hours, arguing that it would be unfair to single them out for penalties if they fail to attend the relevant courses to garner the minimum CPD points.
“The Bar should know the reality of any law firm in Malaysia, the young lawyers are the ones doing the partners’ work, doing all the drafting, all the submissions, I think we are working seven days a week and yet they want us to go to (courses).
“It’s a known fact, young lawyers are underpaid and cost of attending Bar courses will not be borne by the firm, it will be borne by lawyers,” he said, adding that this means additional costs for young law firm owners.
He said free courses and paid courses at around RM80 or less could translate into one point or up to three points respectively, with courses which offer more CPD points to cost more.
“For example, conveyancing matter course, you will have to pay around RM1,500 to RM3,000 in order to get seven points,” he said.
In the Bar Council motion proposed and passed on March 19, the CPD scheme is to take effect for a 24-month cycle from July 1this year till June 30, 2018, applying to lawyers who were issued their first practising certificate on or after July 1, 2011, as well as pupils who begin their pupillage on or after this July 1.
Lawyers are required to obtain at least 16 CPD points per 24-month CPD cycle, while pupils must get a total of eight CPD points, with non-compliance punishable by fines of between RM100 and RM500.
Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru had on March 19 said the CPD scheme does not exclude segments of the Malaysian Bar and is instead to be rolled out in stages.
On March 17, the Bar Council’s Professional Standards and Development Committee chairman Richard Wee explained that the proposed mandatory CPD scheme’s staggered roll-out is to ensure that it remains affordable to as many lawyers as possible, noting that the training will still be available for all Bar members.
Wee added that the young lawyers will also be able to decide in the March 2018 Bar AGM on whether the training should be made compulsory to other parts or the entire Bar.
