KUALA LUMPUR (June 11): The Bar Council has called on newly-appointed Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to look into merging the two Government agencies that provide legal aid in Malaysia.

The Council is of the view that legal aid “is the responsibility of the Government”, its chairman George Varughese said after a meeting with Thomas.

“Among the proposals that we had submitted to the AG was the establishment of a comprehensive legal aid scheme, such as to merge the two government agencies which is the Legal Aid Department and the Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kerajaan (YBGK),” he told reporters.

The Bar Council is the executive arm of the Malaysian Bar, whose members comprise all practising lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia.

Varughese said the merged body should extend its scope of legal aid coverage to more civil matters besides criminal matters.

As for the Bar Council’s own legal aid centres, he said its resources can be better utilised to complement the services provided by the merged entity.

“Once the Legal Aid Department and YBGK is merged, then the entire legal aid will come from the government. We would then perhaps try to do something else to complement the provision of legal aid by the Government,” he said.

Varughese said the move would open the doors for more people to receive legal aid, which is unaffordable to some sections of society.