| Press Release | The Police Must Not Misuse SOSMA, and Must Not Ignore the Solicitor-Client Relationship |
|
|
|
| Friday, 09 October 2015 08:31pm | |
 The
Malaysian Bar is outraged over the detention of Matthias Chang — a
Member of the Malaysian Bar and one of the lawyers representing Dato’
Sri Khairuddin Abu Hassan (“Dato’ Sri Khairuddin”), a politician and
vocal critic of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”) — under the
Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (“SOSMA”). The detention
is reportedly for investigations into allegations of having committed
offences under Sections 124K (sabotage) and Section 124L (attempt to
commit sabotage), both under the Penal Code.
Matthias
Chang was arrested by the police yesterday after visiting his client,
who is currently being detained at the Dang Wangi District Police
Station. It has been reported that Matthias Chang is now to be detained
for up to 28 days.
It
had been earlier reported that Matthias Chang and his client had both
been barred from travelling outside Malaysia on 18 September 2015, and
that they were about to travel to New York for the purpose of meeting
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in relation to allegations of
financial impropriety concerning 1MDB.[1] Subsequently, Matthias Chang
was questioned by the police on 28 September 2015 and 2 October 2015,
as a witness in respect of the allegations levelled against his client.
It
is inexplicable that the police have now detained Matthias Chang under
SOSMA, as he has been cooperative in presenting himself for questioning
by the police thus far. His arrest is an absolute misuse of the power
of arrest and detention under Section 4 of SOSMA.
The
Malaysian Bar expressed reservations over the use of SOSMA on Dato’ Sri
Khairuddin in our press release dated 2 October 2015.[2] These same
concerns apply to Matthias Chang. SOSMA was legislated to address
terrorism threats and violent conduct. SOSMA must not be misused as a
replacement for the repealed Internal Security Act 1960 (“ISA”). The
manner in which the police have resorted to SOSMA against Dato’ Sri
Khairuddin and Matthias Chang is disquieting, as it appears that SOSMA
is becoming the new ISA.
The
Malaysian Bar denounces the intimidation, harassment, arrest or
detention of any Member of the Malaysian Bar in the discharge of his or
her duties or obligations for and on behalf of any client. Every Member
of the Malaysian Bar is obliged to, and must be allowed to, act without
fear or favour in the client’s interest, with due regard to the rule of
law and the administration of justice.
The
Chief Justice of Malaysia, The Right Honourable Tun Arifin Zakaria, has
observed that “… the lawyer does not merely carry out the duties he is
professionally trained for, but assumes a special role in safeguarding
the sanctity of the legal system and more importantly to uphold the rule
of law.”[3]
It
is also important to note that Articles 16 and 18 of the Basic
Principles on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by the Eighth United Nations
Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in
1990, state that:
The
Malaysian Bar further condemns any attempt to transgress or erode the
principle of legal professional privilege or solicitor-client privilege,
in the guise of a purported investigation of a lawyer. The rationale
underpinning the principle of legal professional privilege is that:
The
principle of legal professional privilege must remain inviolate and
absolute, as it protects all information provided by a client to the
lawyer for the purposes of legal advice or representation, whereby the
information cannot be divulged by the lawyer to anyone, unless the
client waives the privilege. This principle is codified in Section 126
of the Evidence Act 1950, with two limited exceptions that render the
privilege inapplicable, namely, where there is “(a) any such
communication made in furtherance of any illegal purpose; (b) any fact
observed by any advocate in the course of his employment as such showing
that any crime or fraud has been committed since the commencement of
his employment”.
The
police must scrupulously adhere to this salutary principle —
well-entrenched in both statute and common law — of legal professional
privilege, and must not seek to obtain from Matthias Chang any
information given to him by his client, Dato’ Sri Khairuddin, by
ignoring or breaching this long-standing principle. Any interference
with the principle is wholly abhorrent, and obverse to the
administration of justice.
The
Malaysian Bar demands that the police recognise and respect the role
and responsibilities of Matthias Chang as a lawyer, release him
immediately, and refrain from any action that is likely to harass,
impede or obstruct him from performing his duties to his client.
Steven Thiru
President
Malaysian Bar
9 October 2015
PRESS ALERT
The
Malaysian Bar denounces the intimidation, harassment, arrest or
detention of any Member of the Malaysian Bar in the discharge of his or
her duties or obligations for and on behalf of any client.
The Malaysian Bar will hold a candlelight vigil to reaffirm the independence of the Bar, as follows:
[1] “
Malaysia Blocks Critic of Prime Minister From Taking Case to U.S.
”, New York Times, 18 September 2015
[2] Press release by the Malaysian Bar entitled “SOSMA Must Not be Misused to Silence Critics of 1MDB”, 2 October 2015
|
No comments:
Post a Comment