PUTRAJAYA: The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has asked the Bar Council to submit a proposal paper to amend the Legal Profession Act 1976, in a move to make it more holistic.
Bar Council president George Varughese said this after his meeting with Attorney-General (A-G) Tommy Thomas today, saying Thomas had been supportive of the matter at hand.
He said the A-G had asked the council to submit its proposed changes to the Legal Professions Act.
"He (Thomas) also expressed his hope for better cooperation in terms of information sharing and ethics between the AGC and the Bar Council."
Varughese also said during the meeting, the A-G had also asked for the involvement of the Bar Council to give its input in the review of several existing laws including the Sedition Act, the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) 1959 and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
"The A-G also said that the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 will be repealed," he added.
The Bar Council, he said, had also discussed on merging Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan (YBGK) with the Legal Aid Department to allow the responsibility of legal aid to be undertaken fully by the government.
"We also suggest to form an independent legal commission that can provide suggestions to improve the law before the Parliament," he said.
On possible conflict of interest involving cases handled by the A-G before his appoinment, Varughese said Thomas had explained that they would be managed by the Solicitor-General of Malaysia without any involvement of the A-G.