Yoursay Why Did It Take So Long To Remove Lawyer From Adib Inquest

---

YOURSAY | ‘AGC must explain why conflict of interest was not detected and acted upon much earlier.’Minister's aide: AG wanted lawyer out, no objection during early stagesVent: Firstly, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin erred in appointing lawyer Syazlin Mansor
Did she not know earlier, as per her own admission, that Syazlin's role was redundant, and that "the attorney-general (AG) is representing the government - that would include both the ministry and Bomba (Fire and Rescue Department)"
Lastly, whether Syazlin acted pro bono or not, she is the wife of an aide of Zuraida
Further, as alluded to by the AG, there is the grave possibility of a conflict of interest as she is also representing the late firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s family
Yet instead of coming out in the open and admitting to these facts, Syazlin chose to remain non-committal in what could be perceived as a pointless attempt to protect herself from being accused of being ignorant of the law or plain duplicitous
Lastly, although Zuraida complied promptly with the AG's demand, she should be made answerable as to why she appointed Syazlin and why when the AG is representing both the ministry and the Fire Department
Roger 5201: That Syazlin worked pro bono is immaterial to the inquest. It does matter that she is the wife of Zuraida's press secretary Ahmad Soffian Mohd Shariff
An independent lawyer is needed to help ensure the inquiry objectively establishes the truth instead of inviting more controversies down the road
Abasir: The pulling out by Zuraida's pro bono counsel of choice certainly raises some unsettling questions, among which are the following:1. Did any of the senior civil servants (with much more ministry experience than the minister) caution her against engaging an outside counsel instead of referring the matter to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) as per the norm? If not, why not
2. In the event caution was formally communicated by a memo, is there evidence of that? If not, why not
3. If, as expected of highly-paid professionals trained by the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan), the minister was advised to seek input from the AGC, did anyone influence the minister to ignore such advice
4. Did the minister, in engaging this lawyer, keep the civil servants in the dark
5. Assuming that the minister did seek input from the AGC, who in the Chambers greenlit the engagement of an outside counsel? Is there any evidence of that
6. What role did any ministerial "aide" play in securing the pro bono services of the lawyer in question
7. Was it made known to the minister that the lawyer recommended to represent the ministry is related to the minister's aide? If so, what was her response
8. Was the cabinet informed or updated by the minister with regard to the inquest and the role of the pro bono counsel representing it? If so, what do the minutes indicate
9. Was the AGC suddenly made aware that someone from outside the government is, against all norms, representing the ministry? If so, by whom
10. What actually transpired between the AGC and the ministry that finally led to the situation we have now? When did this happen
Bert: As a layperson, it did strike me as odd when I read that Syazlin was representing the family of Adib, the Housing and Local Government Ministry, as well as the Fire and Rescue Department
There is a conflict of interest if the matter goes to court
Anonymous_1527925538: If it’s true that there is a conflict of interest, the AG should have stopped it right at the start. Why only now? Is it a misstep or oversight by the AG
If so, he should come clean, admit it and apologise to the people
Lipdah: If this was done by the minister and the AG did not know the relationship till now, why blame him? Unless this appointment had to be vetted by the AGC before the appointment
AG explains lawyer's axing, shocked she declined to act for Adib's familyMalaysian_Phenomenon: Fair play, AG Tommy Thomas. However, the AGC would have known she was representing both sides and would be creating a conflict of interest
At the same time, Syazlin should have also recused herself from either one of the parties she represented
This is a classic case of Old Malaysia in a New Malaysia shell. This should not have been allowed to happen in the first place, but better late than never I guess
Anonymous_1547638541238.97951547637684420: I can’t believe such unprofessionalism and conflict of interest went on for so long before some semblance of professionalism took place
Zuraida has to explain herself. The AGC must also explain why the situation of conflict of interest was not detected and acted upon much earlier
Anonymous One: Why take on an external lawyer without consulting the AGC
The Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Fire and Rescue Department breached the standard operating procedure. Both should be taken to task
Zuraida should resign for appointing a crony lawyer
Constitutional Supremacy: Syazlin was representing the ministry and the Fire Department. She also represented Adib’s family. How could she do this
Even a first-year law student will tell you there was a conflict of interest here. - Mkini

---