KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 27 -- The Malaysian Bar has issued a call to return judicial functions to the iconic Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, arguing the move would strengthen the "civic symbolism" and institutional dignity of the nation's justice system.

Bar President Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab said that as constitutional organs, the courts' presence should reflect "dignity and permanence," and situating them within a building that is part of the national consciousness reinforces that symbolism.

The building served as the home of Malaysia's highest courts for nearly two decades before the judiciary moved to Putrajaya in 2003, and its corridors and courtrooms "remain part of the collective memory of the Malaysian legal system."

The Bar argued tha...