The Walk For Judicial Independence by the Malaysian Bar ended without any protest march by lawyers to Parliament, after police did not allow them to leave the vicinity of Padang Merbok.

Lawyers began gathering at Padang Merbok as early as 8am with some travelling from several other states to join in the protest march which was to have started at 10am.

In her address to the gathering, Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah insisted that lawyers be allowed to march to Parliament to submit a memorandum to the government despite being told by the police that they were not allowed to do.

This came after negotiations where police said they would only allow 20 representatives to handover the memorandum at Parliament.

There was a brief tense moment when police personnel formed a human chain to disallow some lawyers from attempting to leave the area.

A police light strike force unit was also called in to provide further security after several lawyers attempted to leave the area but were denied.

Unfazed, the lawyers continued to chant for a free judiciary including singing the Negaraku while calling on the police to allow them to march to Parliament.

However, the situation calmed down after Deputy Minister in charge of Parliament and Law Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin arrived at Padang Merbok.

Mas Ermieyati, who also addressed the gathering, said that she was accepting the memorandum on behalf of the Prime Minister.

She assured the gathering that she would hand over the memorandum to the Prime Minister and the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar amidst cheers from the crowd.

Cheah later requested the gathering disperse at about 11.30am.

Among those who attended the gathering were former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Arrif Md Yusof, former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by MARTIN CARVALHO, ALIZA SHAH and JUSTIN ZACK

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