KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar has slammed Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli over his remarks on a lawyer representing an Israeli-French man charged with trafficking firearms in April, which he uttered just days before the Sungai Bakap by-election.
Its president, Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab, said Rafizi's comments had unfairly disparaged the legal profession and raised serious concerns about the principles of due process and delicate balance between freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial.
"There is a stigma against lawyers, exemplified by Rafizi Ramli's comments. Lawyers are seen as providing their services to the highest bidder and will do everything within their means to get their clients off the hook.
"Such a perception of the nature of legal work amounts to a misunderstanding of what lawyers do," he said in a statement today.
Previously, Rafizi had brought up the lawyer's role during a campaign speech in Sungai Bakap to counter criticism of the government's decision to sell shares in the Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd consortium to Global Infrastructure Partners, in which Israeli-linked fund manager BlackRock has a stake in.
"Who is representing an Israeli citizen charged with attempted murder? His name is Datuk Naran Singh. The lawyer for the Israeli who brought guns into Malaysia to cause trouble is not from PKR, Umno or DAP, but from PN," Rafizi said.
Datuk Naran Singh Asa Singh was a Gerakan lawyer who contested as a Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate in Perak in 2022.
Ezri said the role of a lawyer was to provide advocacy for clients within legal boundaries, emphasising that they did not manipulate case facts, but operate strictly on client instructions.
"While lawyers may sympathise with their clients' situation to effectively present their cases, this does not imply alignment with their clients' actions or motives," he added.
He said although the Malaysian Bar was a staunch advocate of free speech, such right should not come at the cost of prejudicing one's right to a fair trial.
"By commenting on the lawyer and his foreign client, Rafizi has prematurely called the client's innocence into question before the courts have disposed of the case," said Ezri.
He also called for an end to the unwarranted slander and misrepresentation of lawyers in carrying out their professional duties.