Police to only allow several Bar reps to head to Parliament for walk

KUALA LUMPUR – Police have decided against allowing participants of the Malaysian Bar’s Walk for Judicial Independence this Friday to march toward Parliament, where they initially planned to hand over a memorandum to the government.

Bar president Karen Cheah, in a circular released this evening, said the council was informed of the restriction during a meeting between members of its secretariat and Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya that took place this afternoon.

Cheah said Dellhan told them police would facilitate the gathering at the Padang Merbok car park with certain conditions in place but would not allow participants to march to Parliament.

“The Bar Council acknowledges the assistance of police in helping to facilitate the gathering at Padang Merbok, but we do not agree that we are unable to proceed with the walk to Parliament, and we shall be writing to and shall continue to engage police in this regard,” Cheah wrote in her circular.

Cheah also revealed that Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin would be accepting the Bar’s memorandum to the government on behalf of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The memorandum seeks to ventilate their grouses over the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) probe into Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali to the administration.

Cheah, when speaking to The Vibes earlier, said the Bar expects upwards of a thousand people to participate in the walk.

“We hope to get a crowd of at least 1,000,” Bar president Karen Cheah told The Vibes briefly when asked for an estimated headcount.

Security factors

Dang Wangi police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya, when contacted, cited security factors as the main reason behind their decision to not allow the entire group to march toward the Parliament.

He revealed police had informed the Bar during their meeting yesterday that only a limited number of representatives from the walk would be allowed to make their way towards the Parliament without specifying.

“We stated that they will not be allowed to march, and only gather in one place.

“Only a small group of representatives will be allowed to make their way to the Parliament, a certain number that I have already stated to them, and not the entire group of participants,” he said.

Dellhan affirmed that police were given prior notice by the Bar of their intention to organise the walk, and how organisers told them they expect at least 1,000 people to attend the walk.

“They submitted the notice to us on June 8, and they have been told they must comply with the Peaceful Assembly Act.

Yes, they did mention they are expecting around 1,000 participants, an estimation based on the number of people that submitted their application to attend, but I do not want to confirm the numbers as yet,” he told The Vibes.

The slated walk follows the approval of a motion raised at a Bar extraordinary general meeting late last month that sought for the body to lead a peaceful protest condemning the actions of the MACC for its investigations against Nazlan.

A subsequent circular issued by Cheah on June 1 announced the planned walk to its members and asserted that MACC disclosing the name of the judge to the public, for an indefinite amount of time and without proper closure, was tantamount to an act of intimidation against the judiciary.

“The Malaysian Bar also recognises that any complaint against superior court judges and investigation by law enforcement agencies, if given undue and unwarranted publicity, will have a far-reaching impact on the independence of the judiciary, and the public confidence reposited in the judiciary,” read an excerpt from their circular.

Cheah, through the circular, called on all members of the Bar and pupils in chambers to participate in the walk to oppose the impropriety and manner of MACC’s investigation into the judge.

Additionally, she also advised those looking to attend to ensure they are fully vaccinated, obtain negative results for Covid-19, and always don a face mask.

Contentious walk

The walk had received mixed responses from political observers and economists, with some believing the Bar should reconsider organising it to not trigger any possible negative perceptions towards the organisation.

Analysts had said that going through with the walk could serve to imply that the Bar is not an impartial body and is out to protect Nazlan, the judge who convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on seven charges of corruption and abuses of power in 2020.

Observers suggested the walk could even affect the sentiments of investors who could be left wondering if the local legal system has its “house in order” with such a protest organised by the Bar, suggesting their own lack of faith in the system in which they function.

There were also views from analysts that affirmed the walk, and that it would serve as an important reminder for the public, who are often unaware when their fundamental rights are being exploited.

At the end of last month, the MACC had said that investigation papers into Nazlan had been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for the next course of action after the judge was accused of having unexplained funds within his personal bank accounts.

Separately, an application had been filed by lawyers Nur Ain Mustapa and Sreekant Pillai, and activist Haris Fathillah Mohamed Ibrahim, seeking a declaration that MACC’s investigations into Nazlan are unconstitutional.

The case is set to be heard on June 23 by the Kuala Lumpur High Court. – The Vibes, June 15, 2022