Malaysian lawyers’ ‘walk for judicial independence’ gets off on the wrong foot
- Hundreds of lawyers are angry about ‘anti-corruption’ probe into Court of Appeal judge who convicted former PM Najib Razak in 1MDB scandal
- But they were prevented from setting off on a protest walk to parliament when police blocked two car park exits, and a one-hour stand-off followed
A long-awaited “Walk for Judicial Independence” by hundreds of Malaysian lawyers unhappy about the unprecedented ‘anti-corruption’ probe of a senior judge who convicted former Prime Minister Najib Razak ended on Friday before it began.
Local media said around 300 lawyers turned up for a planned 1km Kuala Lumpur uphill walk from a car park to parliament, amid worries judicial independence was under threat.
But police blocked the car park’s two exits leading to a one-hour stand-off under the scorching midmorning sun, and both parties claiming the law was on their side.
“We are lawyers, of course we act according to the law,” one lawyer was heard shouting.
The tension only ended when deputy law minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin – herself a former lawyer and bar member – arrived to meet the Malaysian Bar Council’s leadership and accept a memorandum about judiciary independence on behalf of the government.