We refer to the announcement yesterday that the attorney-general will be pursuing contempt of court proceedings against lawyer Shafee Abdullah over his “Nazi Germany” remarks during a press conference about a legal proceeding on the addendum case in which he was acting as counsel to former prime minister Najib Razak.
From the video of the press conference, it is obvious that the allusion Shafee made to a “Nazi Germany hearing” was in relation to the failure to allow both sides to be heard before an order of court was made.
It was a remark made in protest of the failure to accord his client the right to be heard, which is a basic tenet of natural justice. A criticism made on that failure is therefore valid and far from being contemptuous, irrespective of the strong terms used by Shafee.
To put it another way, Shafee did not call the court a Nazi Germany court, but was trying to explain to the journalist why it is fundamentally wrong to hold a hearing in that unilateral manner. He had a right to say that.
As counsel, Shafee has a duty to speak up, in court and outside, in defence of his client. He must not be threatened or harassed by the State in any manner for doing so.
If lawyers cannot do their job freely and without hindrance, the freedoms of ordinary Malaysians will be jeopardised. The judiciary is the last bastion between the all-powerful State and the individual, and lawyers play a central role in the judicial process.
The right to counsel is constitutionally guaranteed under Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution. Baseless threats of contempt against counsel is a violation of this right as it may deter counsel from fulfilling their duties to their client.
It is imperative that such acts be immediately halted as intimidation and harassment of lawyers would inevitably create a hostile environment which would deter them from fully and effectively performing their professional duties, thus depriving the people of their right to effective and fearless legal representation.
The AGC therefore must abandon and withdraw their plan to initiate contempt proceedings against Shafee and respect the right to counsel that is protected under our constitution.
The government must also ensure that no government institution be allowed to harass and intimidate lawyers.
Malaysia after all is a country governed by the rule of law, unlike Nazi Germany.
Zaid Malek is director of Lawyers for Liberty.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.
