Malaysian Bar President George Varughese speaks to Malay Mail at the Bar Council in Kuala Lumpur March 14, 2019. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Outgoing Malaysian Bar president George Varughese also dismissed any criticism of the proposal just because lawyers appeared before judges, pointing out that the Malaysian Bar, Sabah Law Society, and Advocates Association of Sarawak would only form part of the JAC. The JAC currently comprises Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, President of the Court of Appeal Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Chief Judge of the High Court in Malaya Tan Sri Zaharah Ibrahim, Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Seri David Wong Dak Wah, as well as a Federal Court judge, three former Court of Appeal judges, and a law professor.
“We have slightly over 19,000 members, so the pool to choose from is 19,000 plus, compared to if you just choose judges from the service, which is probably a thousand plus or a few thousand. So the pool from which you can choose talent is greater at the Bar,” he said.