KUALA LUMPUR: Law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has issued a reminder on the principle that a person is “innocent until proven guilty” in response to the Perlis mufti’s remarks that it is “sinful” for lawyers to defend those known to have committed a crime.
Wan Junaidi said lawyers had no power to declare whether a person was guilty or innocent.
“Only judges have the authority on the matter,” he told reporters at an event this evening.
Yesterday, Perlis Mufti Asri Zainul Abidin said several lawyers had raised concerns over their career if they were to defend those who were guilty.
The mufti said Islam forbade them from protecting wrongdoers or sinners, adding that it was sinful and haram for them to accept service payment from offenders.
He stressed that the sin of taking money from offenders was worse than income from prostitution.
He urged lawyers to evaluate their cases before accepting them.
Wan Junaidi dismissed Asri’s remarks, saying if receiving payment and legal fees was sinful, then no Muslims would want to become lawyers.
Act 347 to be tabled in July
On a separate matter, the minister said the proposed amendments to the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952, or Act 347, would be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in July.
The proposed amendments are part of the reform agenda that aims to strengthen Parliament’s authority as the highest legislative body in the country. - FMT
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