'Sinister intention' to LPA amendments, PKR lawmaker says

PETALING JAYA: PKR supreme council member Gooi Hsiao Leung has criticised the proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act (LPA), insisting that the government has more "sinister" intentions in proposing the changes.
The amendments involve the appointment of two government representatives to the Bar Council and an increase in the quorum needed for a general meeting from 500 members to 4,000 members or a 25% increase, among other changes.
However, Gooi said these amendments will encourage government interference in the Bar Council and it shows the malicious intention to "interfere with, hinder and disrupt the administration of the Bar Council".
"The government's proposal to amend the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA) is an unbridled attempt to assault the independence of the Bar Council, in particular after the Bar Council had challenged the Attorney General's decision in court for clearing PM Najib of any wrongdoing in regards to the RM2.6 billion donation scandal," he said in a statement today.
Gooi, who is also Alor Setar MP, claimed that the amendments were proposed without prior consultation with the Bar Council, no draft bill of the amendment was forwarded to them and requests for a meeting with Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali to discuss the proposal have not been entertained.
"I was informed that the government's unilateral decision to amend the LPA was shockingly sent by email in April giving the Bar Council merely 7 days to respond, failing which it was deemed that the Bar Council had accepted the government's proposals," he added.
Gooi highlighted that the hard copy of the proposals was marked "rahsia", making it virtually impossible for the Bar Council to openly discuss the government's proposals with members.
Earlier, Apandi had assured that the proposed changes were not to control the Bar Council or to stop it from criticising the government, but to promote a friendly and close relationship between the two parties.