When the Watchdog Becomes the Gatekeeper

 

Since 2019, I have lodged complaints with the Sabah Advocates Disciplinary Board (SADB). In 2019, I complained about lawyers taking instructions from a bankrupt. In 2023, I complained about misrepresentation by a firm claiming to act for a government body when it was not even on the panel. In 2025, I asked for a waiver of the filing fee to complain about a lawyer who had produced Particulars of Subsale that were fabricated. And in April 2026, I again requested a waiver of the RM100 filing fee because I am a B40 SARA recipient.

 

Each time, the response was the same: “Fill up the form. Pay RM100. Submit in quadruplicate.” Not once did the Board investigate the substance of the complaint.

 

This is not discipline. This is bureaucracy masquerading as oversight. A bankrupt can instruct lawyers, but a B40 citizen cannot even complain without paying RM100. What does that say about access to justice in Sabah?

 

And here’s the bigger question: under MA63, Sabah was promised autonomy. But what kind of autonomy do we really have when our disciplinary system functions as a toll booth instead of a watchdog? We were given autonomy, but it is misused. With no jurisdiction from West Malaysia, our disciplinary system operates in isolation — yet instead of protecting the public, it shields misconduct behind paperwork and fees.

 

Without competition, without accountability, what is the standard of our lawyers? Autonomy without responsibility is not autonomy at all; it is impunity. Sabah’s autonomy must mean higher standards, not lower accountability. Otherwise, the promise of MA63 becomes hollow — a shield for professional misconduct rather than a safeguard for justice.

 

The Board’s mandate is to uphold professional ethics. Yet its practice is to erect barriers. By treating complaints as administrative nuisances, it shields misconduct instead of investigating it. The result? Public confidence in the profession erodes, and ordinary citizens are left powerless.

 

If the legal profession in Sabah wants respect, it must earn it. And that starts with a disciplinary system that investigates misconduct, not one that hides behind forms and fees.