According to its president, Nordin Yusoff, the newly-minted Malaysian Law Society has been set up as a result of unhappy lawyers who are ‘tired of being bullied and treated unfairly by the Bar Council’.

Unfair treatment

Mr Nordin was speaking to local newspaper, The Star, and referring to allegations of unfair treatment by the council, including a rule in the Legal Profession Act 1976 requiring lawyers to be members of the Malaysian Bar in order to practise.
One of the new society’s key objectives will be to push to amend that section, according to Mr Yusoff. As part of that campaign, the Law Society has opened its membership to all legal professionals, including non-practising lawyers, academics, legal advisors and government ministers. It now has about 100 members.

Apolitical

The NewStraits Times reports Mr Yusoff’s further scathing criticisms of the Bar Council. ‘There has been misuse of power within the disciplinary board,’ he told the paper. He also commented on the alleged inadequacy of training provided for graduates in legal chambers, citing the need for a formal syllabus.
However, despite his comments, Mr Yusoff emphasised that the Law Society is apolitical and is not meant to replace the Bar Council.