KUALA LUMPUR – A group of about 50 lawyers want the Prime Minister’s Department to explain why e-Jamin, the electronic bail system, is to be terminated from May 19 without sufficient notice or reason.
The lawyers fear ramifications for accused persons, especially those from the B40 group. They also consider the termination as a move that is not in the public’s interest, lawyer Goh Cia Yee told Scoop.
A memorandum signed by 51 lawyers was handed to an officer from the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya this afternoon, appealing for a transparent explanation behind the directive to stop e-Jamin, and to allow it to remain in use until an alternative system is developed.
“We’re hoping to pressure the relevant parties into reaching a compromise that benefits the people. The people’s interest should take priority and we hope to have a transparent explanation of what the actual issue is.
“The actual problem is not with the judiciary or the Bar, but (the fact that) the executive had a meeting with the judiciary,” Goh told Scoop when contacted.
Pertama Digital Bhd, the company which runs e-Jamin, announced in a bourse filing that the directive to halt the system on May 19 came from the judiciary – which also ordered the transfer of all e-Jamin funds and accrued interest to the Prime Minister’s Department.
According to Pertama Digital, the instruction was communicated on April 30.
No explanation was given for the directive, which will see accused persons having to post bail the conventional way which would involve time-consuming travel between banks and courts.
Lawyers have raised concerns about the ramifications of the directive on accused persons, as the e-Jamin system was unique in allowing speedy posting of bail for court cases nationwide.
The Malaysian Bar, in a circular dated today, said it held a meeting with of the Federal Court, at which the Bar unsuccessfully appealed for a postponement of e-Jamin’s termination.
However, it said the judiciary agreed to work together with the Bar on reviving an electronic bail system in the future.
Goh said this did not affect the memorandum handed to the PM’s office as it had called for transparency on the reason for the directive and for e-Jamin to continue.
“It also calls for mitigating efforts to handle the potential fallout from halting the system,” he added.
The online bail system, launched in 2020, was the first of its kind in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
It allowed bailors to make payments within 30 minutes and post bail via mobile devices or laptops without having to go through tedious travels between the courts and banks to open a surety account.
Bail money would later be refunded to bailors’ bank accounts within a short time frame after a case’s conclusion. – May 17, 2024