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KUALA LUMPUR: A group of young lawyers today highlighted a “culture of fear” in the student body that prevents young lawyers from speaking out on issues of low pay and sexual harassment.
The group today delivered a petition with 4,254 signatures to Yusfarizal Yusoff, chair of the National Young Lawyers and Alumni Committee (NYLPC), in an effort to pressure the Malaysian Bar Association to implement a form of minimum wage or remuneration for students. .
The trainee is a mandatory nine-month training requirement for law graduates wishing to enter the legal profession, and allowances can range from RM 400 in Pahang to RM 2000 in Klang Valley.
However, students are not classified as employees under the Employment Act. Students also need their Pupil Teacher to sign their Certificate of Diligence before being called to the Bar, which, according to the group, leaves them in debt to high-level attorneys and open to labor exploitation and sexual advances.
“Students are not getting the respect they deserve,” said young lawyer Goh Cia Yee during a press conference in front of the Malaysian Bar Association.
“While it is a fact that we have to respect older people and those who have spent 10, 20 years in the profession, what about the people who work for you 24 hours, sometimes on weekends and days holidays?
“What about the people who are breaking their backs to provide the income that their companies are enjoying?”
Goh, who initiated the minimum wage petition, said the students “had no right to take leave” without permission from the Bar Association. He also said that those who wanted to apply for sick leave had to write for permission from the Bar Association.
Another young lawyer, Vince Tan, explained that the Covid-19 pandemic had made it difficult for young lawyers to get jobs.
However, Tan said it was important for the group to use the pandemic to highlight the problems of exploitation, overwork, low wages and sexual harassment.
“It is ironic that lawyers fight for other people’s rights but cannot defend their own,” he said.
“Why? Because they are afraid that their bosses will take action against them. Even mobilizing people to come here to speak and have their faces on television (it is difficult)… There is a culture of fear. The culture of fear is there.
“I can confirm that after this, when we return, we will receive our fair share of hate speech and harassment online… But there is no other option. We have to move forward with these issues, ”he said.
Another young lawyer, Joshua Moghana Sundaram, said it was “a fact” that sexual harassment was one of the biggest problems plaguing the legal industry.
While he was unable to provide an exact number, he said young lawyers were the most affected by sexual harassment because they were in a profession where seniority “is a big problem.”
Sundaram noted that the Malaysian Bar Association admitted last month that its mechanism for addressing sexual misconduct, which was adopted in 2007, was flawed, with only one report submitted in the past 13 years.
Accompanying the young lawyers at the press conference was AK Ramu, a criminal lawyer with more than 20 years of experience.
Emphasizing that sexual harassment and low assignments were the top two issues young attorneys face, Ramu called for better leadership from senior attorneys to address these issues.
“There are many young lawyers entering this profession … And some law firms are doing very well thanks to the work of these young lawyers,” he said.
“These companies shouldn’t (just) think about profit. Don’t be the typical capitalist. “
Ramu also pointed out that students needed their Pupil Teacher to sign their Certificate of Diligence before being called to the Bar, otherwise they would jeopardize their careers.
“If they do not sign this certificate, they will not be called to the Bar Association, so there is always this fear factor (against speaking),” he said.
