H-Net* No plan to bar Malaysian lawyers from politics, minister says

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No plan to bar Malaysian lawyers from politics, minister says KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (AFP) - The Malaysian government has no plans to bar lawyers from politics, a deputy minister said Saturday in an apparent about-face after a storm of protest. Ibrahim Ali, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, told a press conference the government had no intention of amending the Legal Profession Act 1976 to stop lawyers engaging in politics. Ibrahim on Thursday was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying the government was ready to consider public opinion on the morality of practising lawyers doubling up as politicians before considering whether to amend the act. The suggestion sparked strong protests, reported even by pro-government media, from lawyers, a human rights group, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang and even from the Gerakan party -- part of the ruling National Front coalition. Several lawyers defending ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, now on trial for sodomy, have joined or are close to the opposition Keadilan party set up by his wife to contest the next general election. The former heir apparent to Mahathir was jailed for six years in April for abusing his official powers. The country's Bar Council, which has also frequently criticised the way legal proceedings against Anwar have been conducted, said it was "appalled" by Ibrahim's remarks which were "wholly unacceptable." Others termed the idea a blow to democracy. Some suggested doctors should also be barred from politics -- Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is a medical doctor by profession. Ibrahim, quoted by Bernama, said Saturday his original statement had been misunderstood and he was "only throwing an idea" for public debate. "I have never said at all that lawyers cannot be active in politics. It's totally untrue that lawyers should be banned from politics," he told the press conference. Ibrahim said what he meant was that a practising lawyer elected as a member of parliament or state assembly should stop practising during his tenure and be "a full-fledged politician." He said lawyers who became politicians should serve the people by attending parliament or state legislatures full time. This would also reduce the backlog of court cases. Malaysia must call elections by next June but the government is widely expected to go to the country earlier given the improving economy.