Admittance to Anwar Trial
November 2, 1998
| The Bar Council wishes to express
its regret over the refusal of officials to give its representatives admittance
to the trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim this morning. It is a basic procedure
that a body or person proposing to hold a watching brief should first be
given admittance to the Court-room in order that they could apply to the
Judge to be placed on record. In this regard, the Bar Council had written
to the Court last week of its intended appearance. The application for
the watching brief in this instance had to be made this morning by one
of the defence lawyers, and reportedly was refused by the Judge.
However, the Bar Council Secretariat has since been notified by the Court Registry late this afternoon that two representatives of the Bar Council will be given admittance to the trial tomorrow. The Bar Council wishes to state that its intended presence at the trial is as the sole representative of the practising lawyers in the country duty-bound to be concerned with the administration of justice in matters of public importance. Dated : 2 November 1998 Dato' Dr. Cyrus Das, President, Malaysian Bar |