KUALA LUMPUR: Justice as a cornerstone of society must be universally accessible and not a privilege reserved solely for the elite and wealthy, said Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
In her keynote address at the Malaysian Law Students' Legal Aid Convention 2024 today, Tengku Maimun emphasised that while access to justice is a fundamental right and the rule of law transcends socioeconomic status, it does not come cheaply, even though justice lies in the ability to provide fair and equal treatment.
"Legal Aid plays a crucial role in bridging the justice gap ensuring that no individual is excluded from the protection of the law due to geographical, economic, or educational barriers. In other words, access to legal aid translates into access to justice for the poor, marginalised, and disadvantaged.
"Legal Aid thus functions as a cornerstone of a fair, humane and efficient justice system that is grounded in the rule of law," said Justice Tengku Maimun.
She said that the striking correlation between the wealth gap and the justice gap has led to the assertion that the opposite of poverty is not wealth but justice.
"The right of an accused to legal representation inherently includes the right to competent legal representation, and the quality of legal services rendered to a legal aid client must never be compromised due to lower remuneration rates.
"It is imperative for lawyers to devote their full attention and effort to representing their legal aid clients. A lawyer must prepare for a legal aid case with the same diligence and meticulousness as they would for any other case and defend the rights and interests of the client equally," she said.
Justice Tengku Maimun also noted that ineffective legal representation may lead to miscarriages of justice, especially in death penalty cases where the quality of legal representation can quite literally mean the difference between life and death.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Yayasan Tan Sri Professor Ahmad Ibrahim, Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil announced that a Community Justice Centre will be established at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex as part of the foundation's effort to enhance access to justice in the country.
She said the pioneering centre stands as a testament to the foundation's commitment to accessible justice and is expected to be operational by January 2025.
Also present were former Chief Justice and co-founder of Yayasan Tan Sri Professor Ahmad Ibrahim, Tun Raus Sharif; former President of the Court of Appeal Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin; and prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.