DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) members will close their accounts with Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) if it fails to review a requirement for legal firms to have 50 percent bumiputera equity in order to be listed on its panel of solicitors.

"We are giving Maybank two weeks to review the requirement. Should it fail (to revoke the requirement), Dapsy members will be directed to close their accounts," DAP parliamentarian for Bandar Kuching Chong Chien Jen told a press conference in the Parliament lobby today.

Chong was referring to Maybank's new policy which requires a legal firm to have a minimum of three partners - with at least one bumiputera partner with 50 percent equity of the partnership - to be listed on the panel of solicitors.

Earlier, Chong failed to move a motion to debate the matter in the Dewan Rakyat. Speaker Ramli Ngah Talib said this was an internal matter.

However, Chong disagreed with the decision, saying the Speaker had taken the easy way out.

"All banks in Malaysia are subject to the directive and policies of Bank Negara. The Speaker's decision only shows that the government condones practices that are discriminatory on a racial basis," he alleged.

"Previously, this has been done in relation to government procurement procedures. Now it has sipped into procedures of government-linked companies," he said.

"In a statement today, Maybank said the policy would be reviewed but this seems to be typical of answers given by the government and ministers whenever an issue catches media attention. It will die off slowly in time, and the idea or policy will be implemented."

Practise 'open policy'

Chong reiterated that such moves would affect the professionalism of the legal fraternity.

Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran said the choice of lawyers should be left to consumers and that banks should not decide which lawyers and legal firms can represent bank customers.

"I urge the government to follow the system used in Australia and New Zealand where a much more open policy is practised," he said.

Parliamentary Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang urged Maybank to explain whether the 50 percent bumiputera partnership ruling will come into force on July 1, and how it will impact on both current panel lawyers and new firms.

"I call on Maybank to be a model of corporate social responsibility and make public the top 25 legal firms on its panel which have been given the most business each year for the past 10 years," said Lim.

"This is to allow the public to judge whether the firms given the most business are the politically- connected ones rather than those (who receive work) based on meritocracy or other criteria."