Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Bar Council cries foul over banks’ discriminatory ruling By : Anis Ibrahim and Heidi Foo
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/20070506084245/Article/index_html
KUALA LUMPUR: A new regulation by two major banks that requires Bumiputera legal firms’ involvement has irked the legal community.
The regulation requires law firms to have a minimum of three partners of which one must be Bumiputera with a minimum 50 per cent stake in the firm before they can do any business with the banks.
The letter was sent to all legal firms last month.
The Bar Council has cried foul over the conditions set by the banks.
Council chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan described the requirement as “totally discriminatory”. “There is no legal basis for such a condition and it’s certainly in breach of the spirit of the Federal Constitution.
“All our lawyers should be judged on merit.
“That is the correct basis for selection,” she told the New Straits Times.
“Most of all, we are concerned that such preferences will give rise to tokenism and that it will affect the quality of the legal services provided,” she added.
The Bar Council, she said, imposed no such conditions on members of the Bar.
“We don’t stipulate how law firms should be run, we leave it to the lawyers themselves.”
Ambiga said the Bar Council had written to the banks in the last two days expressing concern and asking them to review their policies.
“We will be following up on this matter with Bank Negara Malaysia,” she added.
It was reported that the requirements would take effect on July 1 while the deadline for existing firms was a year after the new ruling was implemented.
It is learnt that at the moment there are no specific requirements for legal firms to be appointed by financial institutions.
