Bar Council’s circular on PDRM’s pledge to provide legal access – What a bloody joke!
By Eric Paulsen
As lawyers have complained time and time again, the PDRM just do not give a damn to any right to legal counsel. You can argue all you want that this right is enshrined in Article 5 of the Constitution or section 28A of the Criminal Procedure Code or as part of the newly launched Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan programme by the government and the Bar Council.
On 4 May, Lawyers for Liberty lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri while attempting to meet her client Mohd Arif, 19-years-old, who has been detained without trial under the Emergency Ordinance since 8 March at IPD Gombak, was subjected to harassment, rude remarks and criminal intimidation by a bunch of policemen. When she objected to their presence during the meeting with her client, one of the policeman pointed to her aggressively and said more than once “Jangan sampai jadi SPRM”!
What the hell is going on?
Btw, the meeting was not held on the ground floor but on the 3rd or 4th floor, and the policeman who threatened the lawyer and/or her client refused to leave the room and stayed there during the entire meeting with another policeman.
What PDRM pledge? What special room? What private conversation with legal counsel? What a bloody joke!
