31 December 2020, by Salim Bashir, President, Malaysian Bar
Circular No 457/2020
Dated 31 Dec 2020
To Members of the Malaysian Bar
YBGK and Disputed Deductions
The issue of wrongful deductions by the Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan (“YBGK”) Headquarters began at the end of 2015. The Bar Council was mindful of these errors and has since sought to rectify the matter.
The YBGK EXCO met several times to review the rates of payment and to provide clarity on some areas where matters were not clearly spelt out or there were different interpretations. Once this was done, the YBGK EXCO directed the YBGK Headquarters to review all claims and deductions that were made from December 2015 until December 2019 with a view to making repayment to YBGK lawyers.
The review of the first two months identified that the amount of repayment that needed to be done are as follows:
(1) RM20,937.90 (December 2015); and
(2) RM47,952.32 (January 2016).
The total repayment identified for just these two months is RM68,890.22.
We are happy to inform Members that these long-outstanding payments have just been made.
The review of all the claims and deductions from February 2016 to December 2019 is ongoing, and the Bar Council will continue to monitor and pursue this matter to ensure that all YGBK lawyers receive payment for the work that they have done.
On another note, please be informed that the tenure of Puan Noor Sakinah binti Haroon Arashid as the Pengurus of YBGK will end on 31 Dec 2020. She had been seconded to YBGK from the Attorney General’s Chambers. We thank her for her service. Moving forward, a new person will be seconded to YBGK from the Attorney General’s Chambers to serve as the Pengurus of YBGK.
Time went by and 2020 is almost over. This year has brought many challenges but also great learning opportunities. May the lessons learned help us to build a future with greater unity, solidarity and justice. The Bar Council wishes everyone a Happy New Year.
Salim Bashir
President
Malaysian Bar
Please click here to view the full circular on our website, or here to view it on our Facebook page.