PREPARING

FOR THE EXAMINATION –

ROLE OF THE BAR

OVERVIEW

Your final examination includes questions that are based either on essay questions or factual
scenarios. We encourage you to read the following practice questions, write down your own
answers, and then compare your responses to each example provided.

Each of your responses should:

• Articulate a clear and insightful position on the issue, in accordance with the assigned
task;
• Develop the position fully with compelling reasons and / or persuasive examples, and
the relevant statutory provision, rules and rulings or judicial precedent;
• Sustain a well-focused, well-organised analysis, connecting ideas logically;
• Convey ideas fluently and precisely, using effective vocabulary and sentence variety;
• Demonstrate facility with the conventions of standard written English (i.e., grammar,
usage, and mechanics) although the final grade will not take into account grammatical
errors or poor use of language unless the same makes the answer incomprehensible;
• Remember, in answering scenario-based questions, application is the most important
section of your answer and should take up the bulk of your time. The actual conclusions
you reach are often superfluous. The marker will be most interested in how you arrived
at your conclusion.

HOW TO PRACTICE

• Do the Practice Questions

o Doing practice questions will give you insight into your strengths and
weaknesses;

o Practice questions are a tool for diagnosing your strengths and weaknesses in
answering questions – it is not how well you do that matters, but how you use
information gleaned from your performance, to guide your preparation;

o Follow the instructions that appear before the practice questions.

• Check Your Answers

o Review each of your answers with the examples and rationale provided.

• Reflect on the Practice Questions

o After you finish the practice questions, think about the following:

§ How much time did you spend on each practice question?

§ Do you feel you had the required knowledge to address the subject
matter of the questions?

§ Do you feel you wrote well-organised, thoughtful and relevant

responses?

§ Does your response meet the required amount of words which shall be
capped at 300 words per answer?

• Self-Evaluation

o Re-visit and evaluate your responses to each question;

o Reflect on what areas you still need to work on, and revisit those sections in
order to address any gaps.

• Keep Practicing

o Continuing to practice will ensure you are prepared for the examination.

INSTRUCTIONS

Your final examination requires answers to be submitted in essay form. Each response on the
final examination will be marked on its clarify and effectiveness in answering each question.
After completing each question, you should check your essay for accuracy of punctuation,
spelling, and dictation. Quality is far more important than quantity.

• Preparation
o Take out a pen/pencil and a few pieces of paper
o Your response should not exceed 300-words
• Drafting Each Response
o Read each practice question carefully
o Think about your response before you begin
o Start writing your response and ensure you are meeting the requirements of
each question
o It time permits, go back and evaluate your response
• Evaluating Each Response
o Turn the page and compare your responses to the examples and rationale
provided

PRACTICE QUESTION #1

Prepare a response for the following question:

1. The legal profession is generally regarded as a profession that owes public duties and
responsibilities. Discuss this statement and provide illustrations where appropriate.

Turn the page and compare your response to the example provided when you are finished.

PRACTICE QUESTION #1

The legal profession is generally regarded as a profession that owes public duties and
responsibilities. Discuss this statement and provide illustrations where appropriate.

BACKGROUND

The following response is based on an actual script that was submitted by a previous learner
who successfully completed the Ethics training course. We have made minor corrections to the
original submission. This response was graded at 13.5 out of 20 marks.

SAMPLE RESPONSE

It has always been lawyers more than any other professional who, in the past, regularly spoke
out for what is right and proper. Whenever the rising tide of societal evolution has turned away
from fairness and justice, and whenever the primal heart in society has tended to overcome the
spirit of good, lawyers have always risen to stem the tide.

Sir Owen Dixon, on his swearing in as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia said,

“The bar as traditionally been, over the centuries, one of the four original learned professions. It
occupied that position in tradition because it formed part of the use and the services of the
Crown in the administration of justice. But because it is the duty of the barrister to stand
between the subject and the Crown, and between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the
weak, it is necessary that, while the Bar occupies an essential part of the administration of
justice, the barrister should be completely independent and work entirely as an individual,
drawing on … resources of learning, ability and intelligence and owing allegiance to none …”

As such, lawyers have a great responsibility to the society and that responsibility is always taken
very seriously by the Bar.

Furthermore, section 42 of the Legal Profession Act 1976 provides that the purpose of the
Malaysian Bar shall be to uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interests or that
of its members, uninfluenced by fear or favour. This tells us that there is indeed something
special about lawyers, something that makes lawyers different from others around us.

The Malaysian Bar in particularly, is the only association of lawyers anywhere in the world that
provides legal air services to the poor. The Bar Council Legal Aid Centres offers legal aid for
family law, criminal offences, labour or employment disputes, preventive detention, industrial
accidents, consumer problems, syariah cases, and a host of other matters. The Legal Aid Centre
operates several outreach programmes, including Tenaganita Migrant Workers Clinics, Dock
Briefs in Sungai Buloh, Kajang Women’s Prison Clinic, AWAM Legal Information Services etc.

In addition to this, the Malaysian Bar Council has also set up a Human Rights Committee which
operates a Human Rights Desk which accepts complaints from members of the public in relation
to human rights violations that occur anywhere in the country. Aid and legal representation is
arranged and offered by members of the Bar on a regular basis for both citizens and non-
citizens, whenever they are deprived of any human right. The Malaysian Bar has always lobbied
the government to adopt the values in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of
Malaysian Law.

The Malaysian Bar has stood up to fight for democracy, justice, protection of judicial
independence and the primacy of the Federal Constitution on numerous occasions. Examples
include the `Walk for Justice’, challenges made on the removal of Supreme Court Judges during
the 1988 judicial crisis, protest against the Sedition Act and Internal Security Act etc.

The Malaysian Bar has affirmed its stand that the detention of persons without trial as provided
for by the Internal Security Act 1960 is in violation of the rule of law, human rights and the
principles of democratic government. With the efforts of the Malaysian Bar, the Internal
Security Act was finally abolished.

With such achievements, the Malaysian Bar has reason to be proud of its principles and the
courage it has shown when standing up for public interest and citizens’ rights. The Bar has a long
tradition for standing up for what is right and on numerous occasions, has earned international
praise and commendation for its courage.

As such, the legal profession is indeed a profession that owes public duties and responsibilities.
In the basic principles on the role of lawyers adopted by the 8th UN Congress on the Prevention
of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, it provides that, “… lawyers, in protecting the rights of
their clients and in promoting the cause of justice, shall seek to uphold human rights and
fundamental freedoms recognised by national and international law, and shall at all times, act
freely and diligently in accordance with the law and recognised standards of ethics of the legal
profession.

This further strengthens the statement that lawyers owe public duties and responsibilities.

COMMENTARY EXPLAINING WHY THIS IS AN ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE

The key points raised in the response above that was relevant to the question were:

a) Section 42 of the Legal Profession Act and the explanation of the relevant discussion on
upholding the cause of justice.
b) Relevant quotations that emphasised that being a lawyer is not just about earning a
living, but focuses on the duties and responsibilities that the legal profession owes
society.
c) Useful examples were given including the importance of legal aid, and selected
occasions when the Malaysian Bar was seen to stand up for justice.

The answer could have been better if consideration was also given to:

a) The importance of laws generally and the Federal Constitution specifically and how the
legal profession plays a role in the proper interpretation and application of laws;
b) The importance of the collective voice of the Bar during Annual General Meetings;
c) The provision of section 42(g) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 which emphasises the
importance of protecting and assisting the public in all matters.

PRACTICE QUESTION #2

Prepare a response for the following question:

2. Section 42(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 states that the purpose of the
Malaysian bar shall be - “To uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own
interests or that of its members, uninfluenced by fear or favour”. Discuss this with
reference to the role of lawyers in civil society.

Turn the page and compare your response to the example provided when you are finished.

PRACTICE QUESTION #2

Section 42(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 states that the purpose of the Malaysian bar
shall be - “To uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interests or that of its
members, uninfluenced by fear or favour”. Discuss this with reference to the role of lawyers in
civil society.

BACKGROUND

The following response is based on an actual script that was submitted by a previous learner
who successfully completed the Ethics training course. We have made minor corrections to the
original submission. This response was graded at 17 out of 20 marks.

SAMPLE RESPONSE

Section 42(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 indeed stipulates that the purpose of the
Malaysian Bar is to uphold the cause of justice without fear or favour, and this phrase has been
coined to be the enduring motto of the Malaysian Bar.

No doubt, lawyers more than any other group of professionals, have, in history, regularly voiced
out their concerns about what is right and proper. This is especially the case when the hallmarks
of our humanity, i.e. fairness and justice, have been tainted with the rising tide of negative
societal evolution, and greed for power.

Using the Malaysian Bar as an example, we must recognise that access to justice should not only
be made available to the wealthy, and the less unfortunate, vulnerable and disenfranchised also
deserve a right to be heard. The Malaysian Bar supports this need by the provision of legal aid
services to such individuals.

The Bar Council Legal Aid Centres are funded by lawyers and powered entirely by volunteer
members of the Bar who represent these clients on a pro bono basis. The aim of this legal aid
structure is not only to provide legal assistance to the needy but to also promote knowledge of
the law and rights amongst the vulnerable and indigent, and of course to emphasise access to
justice.

Further, by virtue of the Dock Brief programme, volunteer lawyers are stationed daily at the
criminal courts in order to offer legal advice, representation and assistance to unrepresented
persons. There are also other avenues available to such individuals to gain access to justice
through NGOs like AWAM, the Kajang Women’s Prison Programme and Tenaganita.
Lawyers should always be enthusiastic about the law, and take full responsibility for their
position in society. A good example of this is when, during the 57th Annual General Meeting of
the Malaysian Bar, it was emphasised that advocates and solicitors should be free from civil and
/ or criminal prosecution or persecution for statements uttered in the course of judicial
proceedings, especially where there is a larger public interest in contention.

Many lawyers work regularly to try and uphold the cause of justice without fear or favour, for
example where there has been condemnation of the Royal Malaysian police for the alarming
statistics o death in custody cases. Members have also displayed their sense of responsibility to
civil society by organising the Walk for Justice in 2007 in order to raise awareness about
irregularities in the administration of justice.

The Bar has also been proactive in taking measures to condemn and urge the government to
reviews its policies on the unilateral conversion of children in light of the Indira Gandhi case and
the Subashini cases thereby highlighting their efforts to protect religious freedom in Malaysia.

It is stated in the 8th United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders 1990 that lawyers shall, at all times, maintain the honour and dignity of the
profession. Lawyers shall have the right to take part in public discussions of matters concerning
the law, the administration of justice, and the promotion and protection of human rights.

Being a democratic country, in light of the increasing levels of legal literacy and awareness
among citizens, it is pertinent to note that lawyers owe a duty to society at large to ensure that
the rule of law always prevails in any action by the government that attempts to curtail the
freedoms of Malaysians and in this light, any attempt by the government to curtail the freedom
of expression of the Malaysian Bar should also be condemned.

COMMENTARY EXPLAINING WHY THIS IS AN ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE

The key points raised in the response above that was relevant to the question were:

a) A demonstrated understanding of the meaning of section 42(1)(a) of the Legal

Profession act 1976 with reference to the Malaysian Bar acting uninfluenced by fear or
favour;
b) The use of different types of examples to illustrate this point including legal aid, the
Malaysian Bar AGM, and other measures taken by the Malaysian Bar to uphold the
administration of justice;
c) In particular, this answer is able to link the question to the importance of the duty owed
by lawyers to society at large, and the importance of rule of law in the context of the
administration of justice.

The answer could have been better if consideration was also given to:

a) The other provisions of section 42(1) of the Legal Profession act 1976 which relate to
firstly, the administration of justice, and second, the relationship between the legal
community and society at large;
b) Some consideration of the Federal Constitution and specific rights although this answer
did briefly deal with the cases of unilateral conversion of children.