KUALA LUMPUR: Stung by criticism over the apparent reluctance of law firms to provide lawyers for the country's pilot free legal aid programme, the Bar Council has now trained in sights on the law firms themselves.
Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee told The Malay Mail that they will pressure law firms into releasing their staff for the programme.
"I will be writing to as many law firms in the country as possible, including the major ones, to seek their help in providing the lawyers. The employers should have a heart and be more understanding as there are many Malaysians who need the free legal aid," he said.
"Doing pro bono work has always been part of our legal culture. Every lawyer in the country knows this and it will be a poor excuse if employers do not release their lawyers," he added.
Lim was responding to claims by some lawyers who had claimed that they were not allowed to take part in the programme.
The Malay Mail was contacted by several lawyers, who declined to be named, who claimed that their employers said that they should be concentrating on their work at the firm.
Under the free legal programme, Malaysians earning less than RM25,000 annually who are charged for criminal offences would be given free legal aid.
Those earning between RM25,00 to RM36,000 per annum would have to pay RM300 for the service.
The lawyers offering their services could earn up to RM250 a day for handling remand cases and probably earn RM2,000 to RM3,000 a month from the scheme.
The paper had yesterday reported that the government's plan to provide free legal aid for Malaysians has hit a snag due to the severe lack of lawyers.
The programme, which was supposed to have kicked off in October last year, has been postponed indefinitely.
Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail had told The Malay Mail that the free legal aid service is nowhere near ready to be introduced.
He said the National Legal Aid Foundation (NLAF) needed to have at least 1,000 lawyers to start off the programme.
However, he claimed that at present, the NLAF only had 300 lawyers trained.
Abdul Gani had stressed that as the plan covered the whole country, it had to be put on hold until the figure was reached.
He had said that the lawyers were currently only available in major cities such as KL, Penang and Johor Baru.
The A-G's views clashed with that of NLAF alternate director Ragunath Kesavan, who had claimed that there were actually 500 lawyers ready to kick off the programme.
Ragunath, a former Bar Council president, had stressed that the figure was enough, as they could not expect to start with 100 per cent strength straightaway.
The NLAF project, announced last year and approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, was geared towards ensuring representation in criminal courts as at least 80 per cent of accused were unrepresented.
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