KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has hit back at the Bar Council over criticism levelled against him while he represented Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the former prime minister’s final appeal on the SRC International graft conviction.
Zaid, who briefly acted as one of Najib’s lawyers during the appeal hearing at the Federal Court, said the council has become a “politicised” outfit, despite its purpose of serving as a professional body.
Zaid, who is a former law minister during Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration, said he had even been a secretary at the bar for years, and thought of it as a “very useful” organisation for the legal fraternity at the time.
I’ve done my bit. But when the body itself questions my integrity and my motives without even checking with me, checking my motive and propriety in defending Datuk Seri Najib, I felt very sad.
“This is how politicised this body has become,” he said during The Vibes’ The Good, The Bad and the Ugly podcast interview recently.
“I thought the first priority of a professional body is to defend its members, at least ask me, ‘Why did you do it (defend Najib)?’
“But no, they would rather make a statement first, imputing improper motives on my part. Your priority should be your members’ interest.”
During the final appeal hearing in late August, Bar Council chairman Karen Cheah issued a statement alleging that Najib’s legal team, including Zaid, had abused the judicial process and brought disrepute to the justice system over numerous attempts to adjourn the proceedings.
On August 29, Zaid and two of his partners issued a letter of demand to Cheah, seeking a retraction of a statement and a public apology over “malicious” statements regarding the behaviour of Najib’s defence.
Zaid also lambasted the Bar Council for its alleged selectiveness in defending the judiciary and legal system.
“When Chief Justice Tun (Mohamed) Raus Sharif was asked by (Tun Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) to leave, when the Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudi was asked to leave, what did they (Bar Council) say? Nothing.
“When (former attorney-general Tan Sri) Tommy Thomas revealed in his book about (Dr) Mahathir promoting (Tun) Tengku Maimun (Tuan Mat), what did they say? Nothing.
When you start making judgements when you are (actually) a professional body, then I feel sorry for the profession.”
During the podcast session, Zaid touched on some legal reforms he championed while he was law minister, including the move to provide restitution for former chief justice Tun Mohamed Salleh Abas and other judges in 2008, 20 years after they were sacked during the 1988 constitutional crisis.
Zaid also touched on the trust deficit of the nation’s institutions owing to political interference.
Time for monarchical intervention?
Asked whether the nation’s rulers could help in bringing back the people’s trust in the institutions, he agreed.
“I think they (rulers) have to. When political parties no longer make sense to the people, when the institutions are already ‘breaking up’ in that sense, the whole government is in tatters.
“I think the Malay rulers ought to step in to advise on what has to be done. I’m not suggesting they get involved in politics.
“But they cannot close their eyes to the issues that the country is facing. They have to come forward to offer advice and suggestions.
“We are not a mature democracy, we are developing into one. If the monarchy does not play its part, we might not even get there.
“People respect the monarchy and let’s keep it that way. Let them play an active role.” – The Vibes, September 4, 2022
Tune into the full episode of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Ep 14
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