> Judges panel by year's end

The country's first judicial appointment commission may be established by year's end.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday that work on legislation for the commission was progressing well.

"We aim to table the legislation soon to establish the commission by the end of the year," he said in his keynote address at the 21st Lawasia (Law Association for Asia and the Pacific) Conference yesterday.

Abdullah had announced the establishment of the commission in April. 

He said such a commission was "perhaps" a necessity as the present system of judicial appointments had given rise to questions about the judiciary's integrity and credibility.

 He said such a commission would provide a structured, transparent and merit-based appointment process which would be a step in the right direction.

Abdullah, however, cautioned that implementing the whole system would be a challenge.

"Already, there have been divergent views expressed on the functioning and composition of the commission." 

He said that once the commission was formed, it would be up to the judges themselves to make the judiciary a strong and worthy institution.

"A system is only as good as the people who operate within it." 

Abdullah said he hoped that the legal services sector would become a leader in the services sector to be on a par with the Islamic financial services sector.

This, he said, was in line with the country's aim to upgrade its services sector as an engine of growth.

Abdullah was happy that the Malaysian Bar's proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act would open up the sector to international participation.

"A more liberalised legal services sector is a prerequisite for Malaysia's economic competitiveness," he said, adding that Malaysian lawyers could and must compete with the best in the world.

The 21st Lawasia Conference is the third to be held in the country. Malaysia was also host to the first conference in 1968 - NST.