INFO BAR - FINAL - OCT 2015
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
For Members Only<br />
Private Circulation<br />
<strong>INFO</strong> JOHORE<br />
B A R<br />
A B u l l e t i n o f t h e J o h o r e B a r<br />
<strong>OCT</strong>OBER<br />
<strong>2015</strong><br />
IN THIS ISSUE<br />
<br />
PROFILE OF A DOYEN:<br />
THE LIFE OF ABDULLAH<br />
BIN ABDUL RAHMAN<br />
HOW DOES THE <strong>2015</strong><br />
BUDGET AFFECT THE<br />
RPGT?<br />
<br />
FREE TOOLS FOR YOUR<br />
OFFICE<br />
AG’S TERMINATION:<br />
CONSTITUTIONAL?<br />
LEAD ARTICLE<br />
A step forward<br />
or two steps back?<br />
<br />
CASE REVIEW:<br />
DAMAI MOTOR KREDIT<br />
SDN BHD V<br />
KEMENTERIAN KERJA<br />
RAYA MALAYSIA<br />
Read this edition of the <strong>INFO</strong> online!<br />
Scan the following code with your phone or<br />
tablet or visit info.johorebar.org.my<br />
A commentary into the newly enacted Prevention of<br />
Terrorism Act <strong>2015</strong> and recent amendments into the<br />
Sedition Act
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
2<br />
MESSAGE FROM<br />
THE CHAIRMAN<br />
Dear Members,<br />
You would have<br />
noticed the new look<br />
and format of this<br />
latest issue of <strong>INFO</strong>.<br />
I would like to thank<br />
the editorial<br />
committee led by Mr<br />
Fadhil Ihsan for<br />
carrying out this task. I also would like to thank<br />
many senior members who had contributed to<br />
the survival of <strong>INFO</strong> all this years, for being<br />
supportive of the idea to refresh the <strong>INFO</strong>.<br />
The <strong>INFO</strong> is now almost 40 years old. From a<br />
humble publication started by several<br />
enthusiastic then young members, amongst<br />
them, Mr. S. Balarajah, Mr. Chandra Sekran and<br />
Mr. N. Jegatheesan; it has now become a full<br />
fledged publication of the Johore Bar. These<br />
senior members are still very passionate about<br />
the survival and standard of the <strong>INFO</strong>. I thank<br />
them for their concern.<br />
In recent years, the younger generation at the<br />
Johore Bar are somewhat lukewarm towards<br />
the <strong>INFO</strong> be it in contribution of materials,<br />
participation in publication or some say even in<br />
reading the <strong>INFO</strong>. The Bar belongs to the<br />
younger generation. Without them, the Bar<br />
cannot survive. I would think the same would<br />
also apply to <strong>INFO</strong>. For <strong>INFO</strong> to survive as a<br />
collective and continuing publication of the<br />
Johore Bar, the younger generation’s idea and<br />
contribution must be welcomed and embraced.<br />
However the role of the senior members is still<br />
important. They are like the anchor to the ship;<br />
the mainstay of the profession. The inevitability<br />
of moving with time should not be at the<br />
expense of our traditional and historical values.<br />
The seniors are there to ensure this. They have<br />
nurtured <strong>INFO</strong>. Their contribution is now<br />
equally important in ensuring <strong>INFO</strong>’s survival<br />
and standing.<br />
I thank the editorial committee for this<br />
successful publication. I also note that this<br />
publication will be made available in e-format<br />
and can be accessed through electronic devices.<br />
This is another great idea to make the <strong>INFO</strong><br />
appealing to the younger generation. I hope all<br />
members of the Johore Bar would welcome this<br />
issue.<br />
R Jayabalan<br />
MESSAGE FROM<br />
THE EDITOR<br />
The <strong>INFO</strong> Johore Bar<br />
(“<strong>INFO</strong>”) is a prized<br />
tradition and custom<br />
of the Johore Bar. It<br />
has been a pleasure to<br />
take helm of the<br />
editorial subcommittee<br />
for this<br />
term.<br />
As you may have already noticed, this year’s<br />
<strong>INFO</strong> features a new design and layout. It is our<br />
aim this year is to give the <strong>INFO</strong> a more<br />
contemporary appeal, maximizing space usage<br />
and reducing print costs.<br />
Starting this year (and hopefully for years to<br />
come) the <strong>INFO</strong> will be published online.<br />
Starting from this edition, you may read the<br />
<strong>INFO</strong> on your computer, smartphone or tablet<br />
at info.johorebar.org.my.<br />
Whilst it has been a challenge obtaining<br />
contributors for the <strong>INFO</strong>, I must convey my<br />
thanks to all whom have contributed to this<br />
edition. I would like to extend my appreciation<br />
to Mr S Balarajah, Mr R Jayabalan, Mr Yang Pei<br />
Keng and many others whom have contributed<br />
to this edition of the <strong>INFO</strong>. I wish to encourage<br />
more contributions from the members of the<br />
Johore Bar to ensure a continued success of our<br />
prized publication.<br />
Authors, reviewers and guest editors are always<br />
welcome. We also welcome your comments<br />
and suggestions.<br />
Yours Truly,<br />
Fadhil Ihsan (Dale)<br />
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> COMMITTEE<br />
<strong>2015</strong>/2016<br />
Chairman<br />
R. Jayabalan<br />
Committee Members<br />
Andrew Wong Fook Hin<br />
Puan Shahareen Begum Abdul<br />
Subhan<br />
Hardip Singh<br />
Mathews George<br />
Ms. Santhi a/p Balachandran<br />
Ms. Punitha a/p Mariappan<br />
Ms. Gun Huei Shin<br />
Fadhil Ihsan Bin Mohamad Hassan<br />
Ng Kai Choy<br />
Representative to the<br />
Bar Council<br />
S. Gunasegaran<br />
Hon. Secretary<br />
Puan Nik Raihan Binti Nik Ja'afar<br />
<strong>INFO</strong> JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong><br />
Fadhil Ihsan<br />
Chandra Sekran<br />
S Balarajah<br />
Yang Pei Keng<br />
Norman Fernandez<br />
Khairulazwad Sariman<br />
Ainna Sherina<br />
<strong>INFO</strong> JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> welcomes articles be they legal non<br />
legal or extra-legal. The views of the writers of articles etc<br />
are not reflective of the views of the Bar Committee<br />
neither does the Bar endorse or adopt their views.<br />
Editorial Committee<br />
Info Johore Bar <strong>2015</strong>/2016<br />
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> COMMITTEE<br />
No. 5, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak<br />
Susur 1/1, 80000 Johor Bahru<br />
Johor Darul Takzim<br />
Tel: 07- 276 3888<br />
Fax: 07- 276 1188<br />
Email: secretariat@johorebar.org.my<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
2
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
Prevention of Terrorism Act <strong>2015</strong> and<br />
Amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 :<br />
A step forward or two steps back?<br />
For the advocates of constitutional<br />
liberties, April <strong>2015</strong> may well be the<br />
month that took the nation back into<br />
the dark ages of liberty. On 7th April,<br />
whilst the citizens were in their sleep,<br />
the Dewan Rakyat, at 2.25 am passed<br />
the Prevention of Terrorism Bill <strong>2015</strong><br />
after only 15 hours of debates with<br />
79 votes for and 60 votes against.<br />
Before the dust from that trampling<br />
of liberties had settled down, the<br />
Dewan sprang into action again.<br />
Three days later, on 10th April, again<br />
in the early hours when citizens were<br />
deep asleep, the Dewan Rakyat<br />
approved the amendments to the<br />
Sedition Act 1948.<br />
By doing this, not only did the<br />
Government thrust the nation back<br />
into the regressive days of<br />
fundamental liberties, the<br />
Government also openly broke its<br />
promise in 2012 that the Sedition<br />
Act has outlived its purpose and that<br />
the time was ripe for the Act to be<br />
brought to an unceremonious end.<br />
Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper<br />
"A Theory of Human Motivation"<br />
popularized the ‘Maslow’s Heirarchy<br />
of Needs’. Maslow’s hierarchy,<br />
mostly addressing psychological<br />
needs, places the human need for<br />
‘safety’ (or ‘security’) as humans<br />
second most basic need. Maslow<br />
theorized that safety needs<br />
determine behaviour. Safety in this<br />
context would relate to safety from<br />
crime, natural disasters or even<br />
economic security.<br />
R. Jayabalan / Fadhil Ihsan<br />
It is in that same breath and under<br />
that very guise of national security (or<br />
rather, national safety) that<br />
governments around the world make<br />
laws to address concern over their<br />
citizen’s lack of “safety”. The United<br />
States, United Kingdom, Australia and<br />
France brought before their citizen<br />
the human need for safety and<br />
security as justification for limiting<br />
and in some cases, eroding, their<br />
citizens’ liberty. The Malaysian<br />
Government treaded faithfully in<br />
those steps and peddled before us<br />
the IS or ISIL bogey as the justification<br />
to limit, erode and wash-away all<br />
that is left as our fundamental<br />
liberties under the<br />
constitution.<br />
THE DRACONIAN FEATURES<br />
OF POTA : A RESURRECTION<br />
OF THE ISA?<br />
Looking into the Prevention of<br />
Terrorism Act <strong>2015</strong> (“POTA”) gets the<br />
impression that POTA was actively<br />
trying to outdo its predecessor, the<br />
Internal Security Act (“ISA”) when it<br />
comes to trampling of fundamental<br />
liberties.<br />
Some of the disturbing features of<br />
POTA :<br />
Ousting of judicial discretion :<br />
when the Prosecutor applies for<br />
remand order, which can be for<br />
maximum 60 days, the<br />
Magistrate has no<br />
discretion to refuse the<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
application. The question of<br />
whether there is sufficient<br />
ground for remand to be ordered<br />
is no longer relevant.<br />
Invasion of privacy : when a<br />
person is to be released the<br />
Public Prosecutor may apply to<br />
the Sessions Court Judge for<br />
attachment of electronic<br />
monitoring device on that<br />
person. The Judge has no<br />
discretion to refuse the<br />
application. The Courts appear to<br />
have been reduced to rubber<br />
stamping requests from the<br />
authorities.<br />
Right to legal representation and<br />
right to be informed of grounds<br />
of arrest under the Constitution<br />
has been excluded.<br />
The Inquiry Officer, being in<br />
charge of the case, is vested with<br />
enormous powers but with<br />
limited control and supervision<br />
over him.<br />
The POTA Board has no express<br />
powers to inquire into the<br />
reports submitted by the Inquiry<br />
Officer. ...CONTINUED<br />
3<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
3
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
4<br />
The POTA Board has powers to<br />
order detention without trial up<br />
to 2 years or restricted residence<br />
up to 5 years and yet the<br />
accused has no right for legal<br />
representation.<br />
The POTA Board determines its<br />
own procedures, usual rules of<br />
evidence and procedure do not<br />
apply.<br />
Judicial scrutiny is absolutely<br />
ousted save for scrutiny over<br />
procedural compliance but this is<br />
illusory as POTA determines its<br />
own procedures.<br />
Proponents of POTA will want us<br />
to believe that out there, outside and<br />
within the borders of Malaysia exists<br />
the real threat of terrorism. With<br />
extremists from Islamic State of Iraq<br />
and the Levant (“ISIS”) gaining<br />
momentum and growing, the threat<br />
of terrorism is sold as real.<br />
Malaysia has its share of acts of<br />
terrorism : the Memali incident in the<br />
1980s, the extremist Mujahideen<br />
incident in 2001 and the recent<br />
Lahad Datu incident are events which<br />
show a propensity that terrorism, if<br />
left uncurbed, could bring about<br />
grave consequences to peace and<br />
security of the country.<br />
However, POTA has its share of<br />
criticisms. Its deractors would say<br />
that POTA is a revival of detention<br />
without trial laws such as the ISA.<br />
It is also argued that POTA may<br />
be too wide; extremely powerful and<br />
with almost zero accountability. The<br />
Act, in not defining its key operative<br />
terms (which sets the POTA powers in<br />
motion) such as “engaged”,<br />
“commission” and “support”, opens<br />
the Act to uncertainty, ambiguity and<br />
ultimately misuse. The carte blance<br />
guise of ‘public order’ or ‘national<br />
security’ can be used effectively to<br />
silent dissent; arrest political<br />
opponents; and protect the parties in<br />
power.<br />
The Malaysian Bar has taken the<br />
position that POTA is unconsitutional,<br />
vide its Press Release dated 5th April<br />
<strong>2015</strong> which stipulates -<br />
“One of the most offensive<br />
aspects of POTA is its absolute ouster<br />
of judicial scrutiny. No judicial review<br />
of the detention order or the<br />
restriction order is possible. This<br />
violates our constitutional scheme,<br />
which invests judicial power in the<br />
Judiciary, and is further contrary to<br />
Article 8 of the Federal Constitution,<br />
which guarantees equality and equal<br />
protection before the law. The small<br />
concession that courts can review<br />
procedural compliance is illusory in<br />
practice since POTB determines its<br />
own procedures.”<br />
One man’s terrorist is another<br />
man’s freedom fighter. It is said that<br />
national security must be protected<br />
– even at the cost of personal<br />
liberties. Whether the right of an<br />
accused to due process can be<br />
curtailed by reasons of his acts or<br />
affiliations – is a question of fact.<br />
How great is the threat of terrorism<br />
that such laws of detention without<br />
trial is required? Who checks on the<br />
accused and scrutinises the Board?<br />
This lack of transparency may need to<br />
be ironed out in future amendments<br />
to the Act.<br />
POTA could have been more<br />
convincing in justifying its rational if<br />
the Government had provided for<br />
built-in or layers of protective<br />
mechanisms within the Act so as to<br />
protect the constitutional liberties;<br />
much like the preventive laws in<br />
Australia, United Kingdom and United<br />
States. These countries have built-in<br />
provisions for legal representation,<br />
judicial oversight, automatic sunset<br />
clauses and prohibitions against<br />
unlimited renewals for detention<br />
without trial. Sadly, there was none<br />
such meaningful built-in protections<br />
in POTA and the inescapable<br />
impression is that the omissions<br />
could not have been accidental.<br />
There is also the question of whether<br />
POTA, in the form it is, is the only<br />
solution against the perceived threat.<br />
There is strong argument that there is<br />
already enough laws to deal with<br />
terrorism without need for a brand<br />
new law; much less in the form of<br />
POTA. Current laws such as the Penal<br />
Code, Prevention of Crime Act 1959<br />
and Security Offences (Special<br />
Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) already<br />
exists and could be deployed<br />
effectively in the fight against<br />
terrorism and if at all they are found<br />
to be inadequate, they can always be<br />
improved by way of amendments. So,<br />
why then the need for POTA? To<br />
what end does POTA achieve? Is it<br />
not a resurrection of the ISA?<br />
AMENDMENTS TO THE<br />
SEDITION ACT: THE END TO<br />
FREE SPEECH?<br />
As a means to curb<br />
opposition to colonial rule, the British<br />
introduced the Sedition Act to the<br />
then Malaya in 1948. Sedition, under<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
4
English law carries the meaning “a<br />
seditious intention is an intention to<br />
bring into hatred or contempt, or to<br />
exite disaffection against the person<br />
of His Majesty...”.<br />
The Malaysian definition has<br />
of course been modified to suit local<br />
circumstance and includes acts or<br />
things done "to question any matter,<br />
right, status, position, privilege,<br />
sovereignty or prerogative<br />
established or protected by the<br />
provisions of Part III of the Federal<br />
Constitution or Article 152, 153 or 181<br />
of the Federal Constitution."<br />
Controversial at its very core,<br />
the Sedition Act has been responsible<br />
for many arrests due to liberal<br />
interpretation of ‘seditious tendency’<br />
for certain acts. This liberal<br />
interpretation by our executive body<br />
has seen the arrests of prominent<br />
lawyers, activists and academicians<br />
on the premise of seditous acts. The<br />
recent amendments vide Sedition<br />
(Amendment) Bill <strong>2015</strong> has upped the<br />
ante. The amendments have included<br />
making it an offence to “cause to be<br />
published” (as opposed to just<br />
“publish”) seditious material. This is<br />
likely to address content in social<br />
media which can be ‘liked’, ‘shared’<br />
or re-Tweeted whereby the person<br />
sharing the information did not<br />
publish the same.<br />
This is fortified by the Act<br />
making it an offence to “propagate”<br />
seditious publication – a term<br />
undefined in the Act. This again<br />
would effect persons whom share (on<br />
social media) and forward (by means<br />
of SMS or similar) content which is<br />
seemingly seditious. It must be noted<br />
that the crime of sedition need not<br />
require any seditious intent.<br />
The amendments to the Act<br />
also found increased penalties for<br />
acts of sedition. Offenders now face a<br />
mandatory sentence of three (3)<br />
years – with no judicial discretion for<br />
first time offenders or other<br />
mitigating factors.<br />
Persons charged under the<br />
newly amended Sedition Act can be<br />
revoked their passport or restricted<br />
from leaving the country. This is,<br />
again, not at the descretion of the<br />
Court.<br />
In summary, the<br />
amendments to the Act include –<br />
denial of bail for suspects<br />
charged with sedition offences<br />
that cause bodily injury or<br />
property damage;<br />
<br />
Punishments of 3 to 7 years jail<br />
for “causing” materials to be<br />
published or Propagating<br />
publications<br />
Person who author/distribute<br />
digital version barred from<br />
accessing digital devices<br />
Aggravated sedition causing<br />
bodily harm / property damage, 3<br />
to 20 years jail.<br />
<br />
No judicial dispensation for youth<br />
or first-time offenders.<br />
Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote in The<br />
Friends of Voltaire: “I disapprove of<br />
what you say, but I will defend to the<br />
death your right to say it”. The right<br />
to free speech is a fundamental right.<br />
Any law (or amendment to the same)<br />
seen to restrict that right are laws<br />
passed for the purpose of limiting<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
speech will also limit thought and<br />
ideas.<br />
THE MALAYSIAN <strong>BAR</strong>’S<br />
RESPONSE.<br />
The joint statement issued by the<br />
Malaysian Bar, the Advocates’<br />
Association of Sarawak and the Sabah<br />
Law Association on 17.4.<strong>2015</strong><br />
perhaps summed it up best :<br />
“The Sedition Act 1948 is inherently<br />
flawed, and the amendments serve to<br />
expose and exarcebate its<br />
weaknesses. It is a law that<br />
undermines genuine unity and<br />
harmony, and is counterproductive to<br />
lasting peace, strong bonds of unity<br />
and real mutual respect in Malaysia.<br />
The Sedition Act 1948 has no place in<br />
our nation, which aspires to be a<br />
modern, moderate and progressive<br />
democratic society.”<br />
POTA and the amendments to the<br />
Sedition Act, whilst on the face of it<br />
remains untested, are Acts of<br />
Parliament that are slowly taking<br />
away individual liberties and powers<br />
of the Judiciary. The removal of<br />
judicial discretion, imposition of<br />
mandatory minimum sentences, non<br />
transparent due process for the<br />
accused (under POTA) are all actions<br />
towards undermining democracy and<br />
the separation of powers. The<br />
argument can be made of how well<br />
these laws protect us, but “the road<br />
to hell is paved with good intentions”.<br />
The Malaysian Bar has staken a firm<br />
and strong stand against these two<br />
laws. The statements issued by the<br />
Bar including joint statements with<br />
our counterparts at Sabah and<br />
Sarawak have made the Bar’s<br />
position very clear that the laws are<br />
reprehensive; goes against the<br />
freedom guaranteed by the<br />
Constitution; runs counter to the<br />
5<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
5
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
6<br />
Steven Thiru, Past President of the<br />
Malaysian Bar Dato’ Yeo Yang Poh<br />
and members of the Bar Council<br />
namely En. Syahredzan Johan, Mr<br />
Ravi Nekoo and Mr Richard Wee.<br />
universal values of human rights and freedom; and remains<br />
open to abuse or to meet the political ends of the<br />
government.<br />
The Malaysian Bar also recognised the fact that the<br />
ordinary public may not have fully understood the grave<br />
implications arising from POTA and the new Sedition Act.<br />
The public may not be fully aware that despite the<br />
apparent purpose of the laws – to combat terrorism and<br />
protect national security – they have also put the<br />
constitutional freedom of ordinary citizens at risk and<br />
open to misuse.<br />
The good response from the public is<br />
a source of encouragement for the<br />
Malaysian Bar that we are not alone<br />
in our struggle against these two<br />
draconian laws. Whilst we may be, at<br />
the moment, someway from<br />
suceeding in persuading the<br />
Government to take a second look at<br />
the two laws, we are nevertheless on<br />
the right track in educating the public so that the public<br />
could form an informed opinion on the laws and the<br />
Government would realise one day that when it comes to<br />
governance and rule of law, they cannot afford to ignore<br />
public opinion.<br />
R. Jayabalan<br />
Fadhil Ihsan<br />
23.8.<strong>2015</strong><br />
There is a need for the public to be educated on the<br />
workings of the two laws, the grave implications and the<br />
potential for misuse by the authorities. The public would<br />
then be able to make an informed decision over the two<br />
laws. Without the support of the informed public the Bar<br />
would not be able to succeed in its objective to have these<br />
two laws to be repealed or atleast for built-in protective<br />
mechanism to be added.<br />
For this purpose, the Bar Council has decided to embark on<br />
a national program in the form of roadshows and public<br />
forums at every state to educate the public on the two<br />
laws. So far such public forums were held at Kuala Lumpur,<br />
Kota Bahru, Seremban, Melaka, Johore, Penang, Selangor<br />
and Temerloh. The Bar’s effort has received good and<br />
encouraging response from the public, non-government<br />
organizations and the civil society. The forums had been an<br />
eye opener to the public in gauging the two laws.<br />
The Johore Bar, with the Bar Council, also organised a<br />
similar forum at Johore Bahru on 15.6.<strong>2015</strong> and a second<br />
forum at Batu Pahat on 24.8.<strong>2015</strong>. The speakers at the<br />
forum included the President of the Malaysian Bar Mr<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
6
PROFILE OF A DOYEN:<br />
ABDULLAH BIN DATO HAJI<br />
ABDUL RAHMAN<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
7<br />
CHAIRMAN JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> COMMITTEE 1970-1981<br />
PRESIDENT MALAYSIAN <strong>BAR</strong> 1978-1981<br />
ABDULLAH BIN DATO HAJI<br />
ABDUL RAHMAN<br />
ABDULLAH BIN DATO HAJI ABDUL<br />
RAHMAN (11.10.1919—16.04.1987)<br />
was affectionately known to all and<br />
sundry as “Che Lah”. He was a<br />
Barrister-at-Law of the Hon. Society<br />
of the Lincoln’s Inn, London and was<br />
called to the Bar States of Malaya on<br />
the 21st of October 1963. He<br />
practiced at the Bar from the date of<br />
his call till illness prevented him in<br />
1987.<br />
Che Lah was not an enigma. He was<br />
open and transparent as much as he<br />
was opulent sophisticated and<br />
anglicized. The family of Che Lah is a<br />
most distinguished Johore family with<br />
Buginese ancestory. His father Dato<br />
Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Yasin was a<br />
direct Buginese descendant and was<br />
in his time the 1st President of the<br />
Senate and the 1st Chairman of<br />
Malayan Banking Berhad. Dato Haji<br />
Abdul Rahman had married (after Che<br />
Lah’s mother Zahara passed on),<br />
Kamariah, a sister of Dato Onn Jaafar<br />
of UMNO fame who was then<br />
Menteri Besar Johor. Dato Haji Abdul<br />
Rahman was groomed to be Menteri<br />
Besar but as he would not be a privy<br />
to political and palace intrigues he<br />
stepped aside. He then was Johor<br />
State Treasurer.<br />
Che Lah’s brother Dato Sulaiman was<br />
an economist and a member of the<br />
first Malayan cabinet (1955) and later<br />
a High Commissioner. Another<br />
brother, Tun Dr Ismail went on to<br />
become Deputy Prime Minister<br />
Malaysia. Tun Ismail was from the<br />
King Edward VII College of Medicine<br />
and was the first Malay eventually to<br />
obtain the MBBS from Melbourne.<br />
Another brother Dato Mohd Yassin<br />
did Political Science in Melbourne<br />
and went on to become the 1st<br />
Secretary General of UMNO and later<br />
on a Johor State Exco Member.Che<br />
Lah and his brother Yassin married 2<br />
sisters, Che Lah, Tengku Esah and<br />
Yassin, Tengku Azizah. The noble<br />
ladies were from the Johor Royal<br />
lineage.<br />
After being called to the Bar in 1963<br />
Che Lah set up practice in Johor<br />
Bahru and practiced under the name<br />
and style of Abdullah A Rahman & Co.<br />
The most popular and affable Puan<br />
Hendon Bte Mohamed (date of Call<br />
to the Malaysian Bar 18-4-1963 at the<br />
Family Album<br />
Johor Bahru High Court before Azmi J.<br />
later Tun and Lord President) who<br />
was the 1st lady President of the<br />
Malaysian Bar was close to a decade,<br />
a confidante of Che Lah and practiced<br />
with him in his Johor Bahru office.<br />
The Chairmanship of the Johore Bar<br />
was held by Che Lah from 1970 to<br />
1981. He then went on to become<br />
President of the Malaysian Bar and<br />
Chairman of the Bar Council Malaysia<br />
from 1978-1981. Johorean to achieve<br />
this. It is important to note that<br />
during Che Lah’s tenure a chair of the<br />
Malaysian Bar that the most<br />
important rule relating to practice at<br />
the Bar were formulated and<br />
gazetted on 2.10.1978 – Legal<br />
Profession (Practice and Etiquette)<br />
Rule 1978. These Rules are akin to<br />
the Magna Carta of the Malaysian<br />
Bar. He was a Senator in the<br />
Malaysian Dewan Negara from 1968-<br />
1974. Che Lah was a Director, inter<br />
Family album: The young Ismail (back row, extreme right) in a family portrait taken around<br />
1936. To his right, Yassin (later Umno secretary-general), esah, Abdullah (Later Bar Council<br />
chairman and senator), Khatijah and Suleiman (later Cabinet minister and ambassador). Front<br />
row from right: Fatimah, Zahara Abdul Bakar, Abdul Rahman Yassin, Zubaidah and Rafeah<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
7
Ali Hassan Trophy<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
8<br />
alia, of the Cold Storage Group of Companies and was also<br />
the 1st Chairman of Johore Tenggara. He was a part time<br />
Judicial Commissioner of the High Courts, Malaya, in the<br />
1970s.<br />
Che Lah, Justice Dato Ali Hassan, ACP X.A. Nicholas (father<br />
of YA Indran Nicholas of Ipoh) who was then the Johor<br />
Police CID Chief and the then DPP Johor, Kadir Kassim<br />
(presently of Kadir, Andri & Partners KL) started the Johor<br />
Bench and Bar vs Johor Police games in 1967 which games<br />
are played till today for the coveted Ali Hassan Trophy for<br />
cricket. They were cricket lovers and relics of the colonial<br />
past, one might say.<br />
Che Lah was a strict disciplinarian. He was unassuming and<br />
unrivalled for his humility but he had the temerity to<br />
correct the most pugnacious of judges in his own<br />
inimitable style. There was a Bar Dinner 1975 or 1976<br />
when he gave such a bold speech protecting the members<br />
of the Bar and took the local Judge<br />
and Bench to task so much so that<br />
the Judge (Justice Dato Syed<br />
Othman Ali) was so embarrassed<br />
that he walked out of the dinner.<br />
The docile Bar Committee<br />
subsequently pondered if the<br />
Committee should have a preview<br />
and vet and veto all the<br />
Chairman’s future speeches! But<br />
Che Lah will have none of it. He<br />
was bold and upright. And honest. He even felt that<br />
members subscriptions could not be used to defray the<br />
coffee and kuih muih served at the monthly meetings as it<br />
was trust monies and so we the Committee members took<br />
turns to pay for the refreshments at the monthly Bar<br />
Committee meetings! He was not parsimonious but was<br />
cautious of the trust imposed on him by members. He was<br />
fearless sturdy and independent. He never kow towed to<br />
the rich famous and powerful. It was during his time that<br />
the Legal Profession (Practice of Etiquette) Rules 1978<br />
were formulated and gazette and he was a strict adherent<br />
of the Rules.<br />
In the 1960s and 1970s the Johore Bar was inundated with<br />
weekend lawyers from Singapore. Che Lah almost singlehandedly<br />
caused legislation to be passed by way of<br />
amendment to the then Advocates & Solicitors Ordinance<br />
1947 to encapsule citizenship, special qualification and<br />
residency status for lawyers to practice in Malaysia and this<br />
put an end to the week-enders preying our catch and<br />
ploughing our fields. Che Lah was a quiet unassuming<br />
person but never compromised on principles and always<br />
upheld the high standing and image of the Bar. He was a<br />
true British Barrister. He brought fame and name to the<br />
Johore Bar and always had the best interest of its members<br />
in his breast.<br />
Che Lah was my mentor at the local Bar. I was Johore Bar<br />
Secretary from 1973-1975 when he was Chairman and I<br />
was member of the Bar Committee for a number of years<br />
after that under his Chairmanship. It was during this period<br />
that we brought out the Johore Bar “Law List”, a legal<br />
directory of members and a cyclostyled newsletter which<br />
has now been transformed to the Info Johore Bar. The<br />
From left: R Jayabalan Chairman Johore Bar, Tengku Esah (widow of Abdullah A<br />
Rahman), Dato’ Muthanna, Tengku Putri Marina Tengku Ibrahim, Cik Ferizadah<br />
and Mr S Balarajah<br />
Annual dinners in his time were formal dinners (with fine<br />
French vintage wines and cheese boards and when his<br />
Havana is lit the evening is deemed brilliant!) and he was<br />
of the view that professionals should dress and behave as<br />
professionals to maintain and uphold the high standing of<br />
the Bar and its image. He would not compromise on this<br />
stand. It was to him non-negotiable. He expected lawyers<br />
to dress appropriately in jackets even when attending the<br />
AGMs and the Annual Dinners. Che Lah’s Hari Raya<br />
gatherings were wonderful and Tengku Esah’s Johor Laksa<br />
was out of this world!<br />
In 1965 the Yang Di Pertuan Agong bestowed upon Che Lah<br />
the title of Johan Mangku Negara (JMN). He also had the<br />
Johor State honour of SMJ. Che Lah had an indulgent eye<br />
and a forgiving mind but he never sought fame and name<br />
which with his pedigree and connections he could have<br />
achieved in a whisper. He carried on life very much like an<br />
English squire. He was bold upright and fearless and had<br />
priceless integrity and sturdy independence. A rare breed<br />
indeed. One could say that he was the pride of the Johor<br />
Bar.<br />
Che Lah’s only child Dato Muthanna Bin Abdullah of the<br />
Hon. Society of The Middle Temple a Barrister-at-Law was<br />
until recently the Managing Partner of Lee Hishammudin &<br />
Allen Gledhill Kuala Lumpur. He now practices in the firm<br />
of Abdullah Chan & Co. in Kuala Lumpur.<br />
One could assert with unabashed pride that Abdullah Bin<br />
Dato Haji Abdul Rahman is to the Johore Bar what YM Raja<br />
Aziz Addruse is to the Malaysian Bar. It is only just and<br />
proper to adhere to and comply with the wishes of the<br />
members of the Johore Bar to name the main hall at the<br />
Johore Bar Secretariat as the “Abdullah A. Rahman Hall”.<br />
Generations after generations of lawyers will remember<br />
this good man and lawyer who always had the best interest<br />
of the lawyers in general and Johore Bar in particular<br />
embedded in his breasts. Abdullah A. Rahman lived<br />
respected and died regretted.<br />
S. Balarajah<br />
21-01-<strong>2015</strong><br />
Johor Bahru<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
8
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
9<br />
AG’s termination: Constitutional?<br />
By Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar<br />
IT CAME as a surprise to everyone. In a curt statement<br />
issued by the government's chief secretary, the attorneygeneral<br />
(AG) was removed from office. Summarily and<br />
immediately – barely 66 days from his retirement date on<br />
Oct 6.<br />
He was terminated for "health reasons". Strangely his<br />
health was no impediment to the requirement that he<br />
continue as a "judicial and legal officer".<br />
Predictably, there is speculation over his termination. After<br />
all, AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was largely perceived to be<br />
the government's arch loyal servant. Under his watch, for<br />
example, he opposed vigorously any challenge to a<br />
minister's exercise of power under judicial review.<br />
The public seems also intrigued by the speed with which he<br />
was terminated; and the timing – simultaneously alongside<br />
the deputy prime minister and three other ministers – all<br />
vocal critics of the PM vis-à-vis the 1MDB controversy.<br />
They had, said the PM, acted "contrary to the concept of<br />
collective responsibility".<br />
Let us examine the legal<br />
provisions.<br />
The AG is a public (or civil)<br />
servant. All such officers do<br />
not have security of tenure.<br />
They hold their office at "the<br />
pleasure of the Yang di-<br />
Pertuan Agong": Article 145<br />
(5). Court decisions confirm<br />
this: "in Malaysia there is no<br />
such thing as permanent<br />
service ... because every<br />
member of the public service<br />
(other than judges and the<br />
auditor-general) holds office<br />
during the pleasure of the<br />
State": Haji Ariffin v<br />
Government of Malaysia<br />
(1969).<br />
Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar<br />
Also the removal was in the midst of the investigations into<br />
1MDB – where the AG was one of the four key members of<br />
the official task force.<br />
In fact – and perhaps this provides a clue – the AG has the<br />
complete discretion to bring criminal charges against<br />
anyone for an offence: Federal Constitution Article 145(3).<br />
Some courts have ruled that he has the sole power to do<br />
so: Repco Holdings v PP (1997).<br />
Many have questioned the legality of the sacking. Some say<br />
that he can only be removed after a tribunal hearing – and<br />
harken to the tribunals set up under the premiership of<br />
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the sacking of the judges.<br />
Others opine that he must be given a prior right to be<br />
heard. Yet others say that he can be removed because he<br />
holds office at "the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan<br />
Agong".<br />
In this the King must act on the advice of the Cabinet (or<br />
minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet):<br />
Article 40(1).<br />
Some commentators say that the AG can only be removed<br />
from office on the "like grounds and in the like manner as a<br />
judge of the Federal Court". Their view is based on Article<br />
145(6) which says that "The person holding the office of the<br />
AG immediately prior to the coming into operation of this<br />
Article shall continue to hold office on terms and conditions<br />
not less favourable than those applicable to him<br />
immediately before such coming into operation and shall<br />
not be removed from office except on the like grounds and<br />
the like manner as a judge of the Federal Court".<br />
A straight reading suggests that the protection is only for<br />
the then incumbent AG – "holding office prior to the<br />
coming into operation of the Article". This article was<br />
amended by Act 26/93 on May 26, 1960 – but only came<br />
into force on Sept 16, 1963 (Malaysia Day).<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
9
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
10<br />
The earlier article read as follows: "The<br />
AG … shall not be removed from office<br />
except on like grounds and like manner<br />
as a judge of the Federal Court".<br />
So the protection afforded to the AG was<br />
removed by this amendment.<br />
The present article seems to provide for<br />
a one-off situation and to one person. Admittedly, this is<br />
unusual in a constitution, leading some to argue that the<br />
second part of the clause should be read disjunctively<br />
(separately) from the first part; with the result that any<br />
removal of the AG must be like the removal of a federal<br />
judge as provided for in Article 125 – for the same grounds<br />
(misconduct, ill-health, etc) and in like manner (tribunal,<br />
etc).<br />
It has also been suggested that the AG's rank has been<br />
reduced. He was not given the right to be heard. This is<br />
illegal because no public servant can be dismissed or<br />
reduced in rank without being first given the right to be<br />
heard: Article 135(2). This provision applies, as well, to a<br />
member of the judicial and legal service. However the AG is<br />
specifically excluded from the benefit of this provision by<br />
Article 132(4)(b).<br />
The government announced it had terminated the AG's<br />
services. Termination under a contract differs from a<br />
dismissal which involves a penalty or punishment.<br />
tenure.<br />
guardian of the public interest – a right which is<br />
vested in him under the common law. That is<br />
why the AG lends his name by way of a relator<br />
action to any party seeking to protect the<br />
public interest.<br />
This episode suggests a need to revisit the<br />
provisions relating to the AG, in particular to<br />
secure his independence and security of<br />
Interestingly the rationale provided by the government in<br />
1957 for the original article that the AG be not removed<br />
from office except on the like grounds and in the like<br />
manner as a judge of the Supreme Court was "to safeguard<br />
the AG's position" because "it is essential that, in<br />
discharging his duties, the AG should act in an impartial<br />
and quasi-judicial spirit".<br />
Of course this is predicated on the appointment of an AG<br />
with integrity in whom the public can repose their<br />
confidence of carrying out his constitutional duty. For the<br />
people have the right to expect such a high officer to "act<br />
honestly, without fear of powerful national and local<br />
figures or of the consequences to him personally or<br />
politically, and without favouring his relatives and friends<br />
and supporters": Federal Court in Johnson Tan Han Seng v<br />
PP (1977).<br />
Gurdial is Professor at the Law Faculty, University<br />
of Malaya.<br />
If the termination is in accord with the AG's contract, fine.<br />
If not can the termination be wrongful for breach of<br />
contract? The Federal Court decided in 1969 that a<br />
contractual right could not override the cases which<br />
decided that a servant of the crown held office at pleasure:<br />
Haji Ariffin v Government of Malaysia.<br />
The general upshot is that constitutionally the PM has the<br />
final say for the removal of the AG. After all he is the<br />
government's legal adviser; and the "client" has the right to<br />
"change" his lawyer at any time.<br />
But aside from the role as a public prosecutor assigned to<br />
him by the Constitution, the AG continues to be the<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
10
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
11<br />
Judicial Ethics<br />
Restoring old-fashioned values to the bench—Tommy Thomas<br />
The term “ethics” as usually I understood refers to a<br />
collection of rules or standards of conduct expected of a<br />
particular professional group. Any member of a<br />
professional group be he doctor, engineer, lawyer or any<br />
other who departs from these ethical standards to a<br />
sufficiently marked degree, runs the risk of being excluded<br />
from his profession. Judges qualify as a professional group<br />
with very definite duties to the community. All the<br />
characteristics of an ethical system as such are present in<br />
relation to the judiciary. Indeed, the ethical standards<br />
required from judges call for perhaps the highest and most<br />
rigorous standards, sacrifices and disciplines of any<br />
profession in the community. Therefore, there is no doubt<br />
that judicial ethics exist and all judges are bound by them.<br />
The Malaysian judiciary does not have a written code of<br />
ethics like the Legal Profession (Practise and Etiquette)<br />
Rules of 1978. One cannot find a document which sets out<br />
ethics for Malaysian judges. Accordingly, in my opinion, a<br />
starting point for purposes of discussion is the oath of<br />
office which all judges must subscribe to upon their<br />
appointment.<br />
Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court in Malaysia<br />
are required under Article 124 of the Federal Constitution<br />
before exercising any functions of their office to take and<br />
subscribe the oath of allegiance set out in the Sixth<br />
Schedule to the Federal Constitution.<br />
Preservation, protection and defence of the Federal<br />
Constitution includes institutions referred to in the<br />
Constitution, like the judiciary. I would like to spend some<br />
time considering the ethics of protecting the Federal<br />
Constitution with special reference to recent events.<br />
These words appearing in the Oath of Office presuppose<br />
attack or assault upon or challenge to the Federal<br />
Constitution and the institutions of Government, like the<br />
judiciary. The traditional sources of such attack are:<br />
I. External to the country e.g. Indonesian Confrontation;<br />
II. Executive;<br />
III. Legislature;<br />
IV. Conference of Rulers (this is special to Malaysia).<br />
What is striking about the episodes of the six judges is that<br />
attacks upon the Constitution came from a very<br />
unexpected source that is, judges themselves. Self-inflicted<br />
wounds hurt the judiciary far more than external assault.<br />
The Tun Salleh affair, the affair of the five Supreme Court<br />
judges and the conduct of the two tribunals comprising<br />
some eleven judges were the results of intrigue,<br />
manoeuvring and scheming within the judiciary without<br />
parallel or precedent in Malaysia or any other common law<br />
jurisdiction. In other words, if the judiciary had stood<br />
completely united, none of the judges would have been<br />
dismissed.Judicial disunity and in-fighting of such<br />
magnitude offers the following fivelessons:<br />
First: Judges can plainly and easily disregard basic notions<br />
of law, equity, justice and ethics which are studied in the<br />
first year of any law course, and which are ingrained in<br />
every lawyer in the land. Thus, the Chief Justice of Malaya<br />
had no qualms about taking the following actions which<br />
anyone with an elementary knowledge of the law would<br />
find repugnant:<br />
<br />
Acting as chairman of a Tribunal in circumstances<br />
where he could secure the vacant Lord President’s post<br />
if the incumbent is removed.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
11
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
12<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Acting as chairman of a Tribunal when he attended a<br />
meeting of judges, and did not dissent from the<br />
decision taken thereat to write a letter to the King,<br />
which was the very subject matter of the charge before<br />
the Tribunal.<br />
Exercising constitutional and statutory discretions<br />
vested in the office of the Lord President when he was<br />
the lst Defendant in a civil action relating to that<br />
action. This included convening a special sitting of the<br />
Supreme Court consisting of two Supreme Court judges<br />
and three High<br />
Court judges to hear an application to set aside the<br />
interim stay order granted by the five Supreme Court<br />
judges on 2 July 1988.<br />
Making representations to the King under Article 125<br />
for the appointment of the Tribunal, which<br />
representations contained material non-disclosures<br />
and errors of fact.<br />
<br />
Giving directions to the Chief Registrar relating to thecivil<br />
action to which he was 1st Defendant,including<br />
directions that the Court. staff should not cooperate<br />
with the Judges, the Court room should be locked, and<br />
the seal hidden.<br />
Second: Rules of natural justice can be easily ignored with<br />
out regard to established principles of law. Thus, two<br />
Supreme Court judges refused to disqualify themselves<br />
from sitting in the Supreme Court, although they had<br />
expressed a view on the sitting on 2 July 1988, which was<br />
the subject matter of the application before them. One of<br />
them, it may be recalled, described it as a revolution.<br />
According to these two judges, it was enough for them to<br />
declare in Open Court that they were not biased.<br />
Third: Six judges, two of them were from foreign lands,<br />
could draft a report in the first, tribunal without referrihg<br />
even once to the evidence filed by Tun Salleh in the<br />
prohibition proceedings, which were served upon them as<br />
Defendants therein at the outset of their deliberations.<br />
Fourth: Five judges, two of Whom were foreigners, could<br />
write their report in the second tribunal withoutreferring<br />
at all or sufficiently to two crucial facts. Firstly, that, as a<br />
litigant, the Acting Lord President was precluded from<br />
exercising his discretion in making representations for the<br />
appointment of the Tribunal under Article 125, and<br />
secondly, that because he was a litigant the Acting Lord<br />
President was precluded from exercising any powers<br />
relating to that action, and therefore Justice Wan Sulaiman<br />
was the most senior judge solely for all matters relating to<br />
that action pursuant to Section 9 of the Courts of<br />
Judicature Act 1964.<br />
Fifth: A Judge sitting in the High Court could drag exparte<br />
prohibition proceedings which normally last five minutes to<br />
three hearing days so as to deliberately render any<br />
decision he would make academic. The upshot was that<br />
three of our most senior judges, including the head of the<br />
judiciary, could not get justice from their own courts.<br />
What should be done in the wake of these lessons? in my<br />
opinion, one possible cure is the restoration of oldfashioned<br />
values. I say “restoration” because I would like<br />
to think that the Malaysian judiciary did at one time adhere<br />
to most of these values. It is a sort of Do’s and Don’ts for<br />
those sitting on the Bench.<br />
Eight values have been identified:<br />
1. Diligently discharging hisjudicial duties, including being<br />
punctual on the bench, sitting daily from 10 am to 4<br />
pm and the like. Administering justice is a service<br />
industry. Judges are paid salaries from the public<br />
purse. They have a duty to the community to "deliver<br />
the goods.” It is compounded by the fact that judges<br />
must sit in public. Thus the glare of publicity is ever<br />
present.<br />
2. Judges must possess judicial temperament. Having<br />
regard to their awesome powers, it is essential for<br />
judges to be polite to witnesses and parties. Other<br />
qualities include patience, tolerance and humility.<br />
Must recognise and acknowledge the important role of<br />
Counsel.<br />
3. The ability to make decisions quickly. Parties have a<br />
right to expect judges to be decisive. After all, that is<br />
what they are paid for.If judgments are to be reserved<br />
and this is inevitable - they must be delivered as<br />
speedily as possible, say no longer than two months.<br />
4. Must give written reasons for their decision.<br />
Otherwise, it would be “Mariner’s compass,” in Justice<br />
Krishna Ayer’s words, or palm tree justice. it has often<br />
been said that the most important person in the<br />
judicial process is the loser. He must know why he lost.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
12
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
13<br />
Hence the marked significance of<br />
judicial work is not the importance<br />
of making a decision, but giving<br />
reasons for a decision.<br />
5. A judge must lead a sober life. He<br />
must not be a social animal.There<br />
must be no involvement whatsoever<br />
in business or commerce. There<br />
should be no Mafia economics, in<br />
Justice Krishna Ayer’s colourful<br />
phrase. A hermit’s life is<br />
recommended.<br />
6. Integrity, both in public and private<br />
life. This includes ‘ the element of<br />
honesty, both intellectual and<br />
general.<br />
7. Courage of convictions. A judge must<br />
act without fear or favour. The law<br />
must be applied even if the heavens<br />
fall. Obviously, it will be easier for<br />
him to take such courageous<br />
decisions if he leads a sober private<br />
life. This links up with the<br />
observations made in respect of the<br />
fifth<br />
value.<br />
8. A judge should avoid impropriety<br />
and the appearance of impropriety<br />
in all his activities. Recent<br />
developments clearly demonstrate<br />
that judges must not suffer undue<br />
ambition or crave promotion. Paper<br />
given at Bar Council Seminar on<br />
Independence of the Judiciary, Kuala<br />
Lumpur, 4-5 Nov, 1988.<br />
Paper given at Bar Council Seminar on<br />
Independance of the Judiciary, Kuala<br />
Lumpur, 4-5 Nov, 1988.<br />
Rehashed with kind consent of Tommy<br />
Thomas <strong>2015</strong><br />
69.<br />
THE LATE SETHU ARUMUGAM OF<br />
SEGAMAT, JOHOR<br />
(15-11-1946 - 24-02-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
Sethu Arumugam who<br />
was popularly known as<br />
A. Sethu an Advocate<br />
and Solicitor practising<br />
under the name and<br />
style of Syarikat A. Sethu<br />
of Segamat Johor passed<br />
away peacefully on the<br />
24th of Feb <strong>2015</strong>, aged<br />
Sethu a Segamat lad who received his<br />
secondary education in the High School<br />
Segamat graduated initially from the University<br />
of Malaya with a Bachelor of Arts<br />
(Hons) degree in 1978 and embarked on<br />
a career with the Ministry of Education of<br />
Malaysia as a teacher.<br />
Whilst in the teaching profession Sethu<br />
pursued a Bachelor of Laws programme<br />
and graduated with the LLB (Hons) (Ext)<br />
from the University of London in 1985.<br />
He then obtained the Certificate in Legal<br />
Practice. He was admitted and enrolled<br />
to the Malaysian Bar on 28.5.1988 at the<br />
age of 42. He practised in soleproprietorship<br />
in his home town Segamat<br />
ever since and was essentially a litigator.<br />
The late lawyer who was a member of<br />
the Rotary Club of Segamat leaves behind<br />
his beloved wife K. Sarojah Sethu a retired<br />
teacher and 3 children, Ir. Raj Sekar,<br />
Dr Vasanthi Sethu their spouses and several<br />
grandchildren to mourn his loss and<br />
the youngest son Shankar. The funeral<br />
took place in Segamat.<br />
The Johore Bar’s condolences are accorded<br />
and conveyed to the bereaved family<br />
of A Sethu with a quote from the 1st Non<br />
-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature<br />
(1913) and who renounced the<br />
English knighthood bestowed upon him<br />
by King George V in protest against<br />
British aggression in India in 1919,<br />
Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote:<br />
“Say not in grief that he is no more<br />
but say in thankfulness that he was<br />
A death is not the extinguishing of a light<br />
but the putting out of the lamp<br />
because the dawn has come”.<br />
- Tagore<br />
Now that his labours have ceased may<br />
the late Sethu Arumugam rest in everlasting<br />
peace in his God’s bosom and<br />
embrace.<br />
S. Balarajah<br />
Johor Bar<br />
11.3.<strong>2015</strong><br />
THE LATE G SANTHARAN<br />
4.8.<strong>2015</strong><br />
Mr. G. Santharan (usually known among<br />
friends as Sanjay 59, a Senior Member of<br />
the Johore Bar passed away on 4.8.<strong>2015</strong><br />
and his remains were cremated at Kluang<br />
on the same date.<br />
G. Santharan was from Guthrie Estate,<br />
Ladang Ulu Remis, Layang-Layang, Johore<br />
and was educated at Diamond Jubliee<br />
Primary School at Rengam and later at<br />
Sek Men. Dato. Hj. Hassan Yunus,<br />
Rengam. After completing SPM he was<br />
Medical Assistant at the Government<br />
Hospital and pursed his Bachelor of Laws,<br />
degree by distance learning with University<br />
of Wolverhampton. He obtained a<br />
Bachelor of Laws Degree and CLP. He was<br />
admitted to Malaysia Bar on 3.11.1997.<br />
He was a partner of Messrs Manian K.<br />
Marappan & Company.<br />
He handled Civil and Criminal, litigation,<br />
running down matters and medical negligence<br />
claims. He was very dedicated in<br />
his work.<br />
He leaves behind his beloved parents,<br />
wife and two daughters who are qualified<br />
Doctors.<br />
The love and devoted care that his wife<br />
and mother bestowed upon him during<br />
his last ailing years were a source of great<br />
solace.<br />
Manian K Marappan<br />
Johor Bar<br />
2.9.<strong>2015</strong><br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
13
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
14<br />
CASE REVIEW<br />
Damai Motor Kredit Sdn Bhd v Kementerian Kerja Raya Malaysia<br />
*<strong>2015</strong>+ 1 AMR 205; *<strong>2015</strong>+ 1 CLJ 44 (Court of Appeal) *and subsequent appeal to the Federal Court in<br />
Appeal No. 08-822-11/2012+<br />
In this appeal (at the Court of Appeal),<br />
the 1st and 2nd Appellant were both<br />
owners and interested party to an<br />
acquisition by the Works Ministry<br />
(through the Government of Malaysia),<br />
the Respondent. At the hearing of the<br />
aquisition before the Land Administrator,<br />
the Respondent did not object to the<br />
compensation awarded to the tune of<br />
RM6,951,150-00 and RM4,450,000-00<br />
respecively.<br />
Unbeknownst to the Appellants, the<br />
Respondent had applied and obtained an<br />
order of Court on which purportedly<br />
granted the Appellant permission to<br />
bring objection to the Award to Court<br />
(“Extension Order”).<br />
The Extension Order was relied upon by<br />
the Appellant to file their objection to the<br />
Awards to the Land Administrator vide<br />
Form N which culminated into the Land<br />
Reference before the High Court.<br />
THE HIGH COURT<br />
By reason that the Appellants have not<br />
been named in the Land Reference, the<br />
Appellants filed an application to<br />
intervene in the Land Reference<br />
proceedings and sought to declare the<br />
Extension Order and the Land Reference<br />
as void.<br />
The High Court did not agree with this<br />
contention and dismissed the application.<br />
The Land Reference proceeded at the<br />
High Court in the absence of the<br />
Appellants as parties.<br />
THE COURT OF APPEAL<br />
On 8.10.2012, after hearing parties, the<br />
Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the<br />
appeal with the Government of Malaysia<br />
agreeing by consent for the Appellants’<br />
right to intervention. The Court of<br />
Appeal also set aside the whole Land<br />
Reference for want of illegality and<br />
invalid extension order. The Court went<br />
as far as to declare the Form N as null<br />
and void.<br />
THE FEDERAL COURT<br />
The Government of Malaysia then<br />
applied for and obtained leave to appeal<br />
to the Federal Court with the sole<br />
question of law -<br />
“Whether in an application for<br />
extension of time to file an<br />
objection against the Land<br />
Administrator’s award under<br />
Section 38(4) of the Land<br />
Acquisition Act 1960, failure to<br />
include the owner of the land as a<br />
party in the said application would<br />
render the application and<br />
subsequent order thereto null and<br />
void”<br />
At the full hearing on the above<br />
question, the Federal Court took the<br />
unanimously view that the leave question<br />
need not be decided upon and dismissed<br />
the appeal by the Government of<br />
Malaysia. With this decision of the<br />
Federal Court, the principles laid down by<br />
the Court of Appeal stands.<br />
Fundamental issues which can be derived<br />
from this decision are –<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
A ‘person interested’ as defined under<br />
Section 2 of the Land Acquisition<br />
Act may apply to intervene in Land<br />
Reference proceedings. The Court of<br />
appeal was guided by the Supreme<br />
Court decision of Tohtonku Sdn Bhd v<br />
Superace Sdn Bhd.<br />
An application for extension of time,<br />
should for the purpose of justice be<br />
clear upon its terms and served upon<br />
the interested persons to the<br />
aquisition. This provision is absent<br />
inside the Land Acquisition Act, but<br />
the court opined that by the mere<br />
reason that the appellant would be<br />
affected by the extension order are<br />
enough grounds where service (of<br />
the application) is necessitated.<br />
Further, such extension order may<br />
require to set forth a time frame and<br />
to express in clear terms of such extension.<br />
The court accepts that when<br />
no time is set, it falls under the principle<br />
of ‘convenient speed’ as stated<br />
in Section 54 of the Interpretation<br />
Act 1948 and 1967.<br />
COMMENTS<br />
Whilst the decision of the Court of<br />
Appeal did canvas the lacuna in the Land<br />
Acquisition Act (with regard to<br />
requirement of service of an application<br />
for extension of time), the existing test<br />
for intervention suffices the right to<br />
intervene in such a proceedings.<br />
In this matter, the extension application<br />
was made by the Government of<br />
Malaysia (as paymaster) with Land<br />
Administor as Respondent. With the Land<br />
Administrator bieng under the purview of<br />
the State Legal Advisor’s office, it is<br />
incumbent on the Land Administrator to<br />
notify the interested or affected parties<br />
of such an application as to warrant a fair<br />
hearing of such application. This would<br />
fulfill its role as guardian of land titles.<br />
The above matter was conducted by<br />
Johore Bar members Leslie LM Looi,<br />
Fadhil Ihsan and Khairulazwad Sariman.<br />
Nadhirah Zulkharnain<br />
Fadhil Ihsan<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
14
Naming of the Johore Bar Auditorium as<br />
the ‘Abdullah A. Rahman Auditorium’<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
The Johore Bar held a naming ceremony of the auditorium on 15 June <strong>2015</strong> at the Johore Bar Building to name the Johore<br />
Bar Auditorium after the late Abdullah A. Rahman Auditorium. The late Abdullah A. Rahman was the longest serving Chairman<br />
of the Johore Bar and the 1st Chairman of the Johore Bar was elected as President of the Malaysian Bar.<br />
The Ceremony was graced by the family of the late Abdullah A. Rahman and past Chairmen of the Johore Bar. The naming<br />
ceremony was officiated by Steven Thiru, President of the Malaysian Bar. S. Balarajah gave a citation on the late Abdullah<br />
A. Rahman.<br />
15<br />
SPEECH BY THE CHAIRMAN<br />
MR R JAYABALAN<br />
Ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon, welcome to our<br />
Johore Bar Building.<br />
We are gathered today to mark the ceremony to name the<br />
Johore Bar Auditorium – where we are in now – as the<br />
“Abdullah A. Rahman Auditorium”.<br />
Please allow me to refresh your memory a little about this<br />
building. The Johore Bar Building was officially opened on 9th<br />
October 2013 by the then President of the Malaysian Bar Mr<br />
Christopher Leong.<br />
This building was a fruition of the Johore Bar’s dream over<br />
several long years. It started as a wishful thinking before<br />
gaining momentum as a serious project and finally brought to<br />
realization in 2013. At the risk of repetition, I would like to<br />
express the Johore Bar’s appreciation to the then Chairman<br />
Mr. S. Gunasegaran and his Committee members for<br />
delivering this building. A special note of appreciation<br />
is also due to Mr Andrew Wong who was responsible for<br />
getting the building renovated the way it is today.<br />
Purchasing the building would not have been possible without<br />
the Bar Council’s aid. The purchase price was magnanimously<br />
borne by the Bar Council but that does not mean the Johore<br />
Bar had it easy. The costs for renovation and refurbishment<br />
was borne by the members of the Johore Bar. A one time<br />
subscription of RM 250.00 was imposed and the then 1,500<br />
odd members made their contribution.<br />
This building now houses the Johore Bar Secretariat, library,<br />
this auditorium and several meeting rooms. This auditorium is<br />
used to conduct our seminars, forums, meetings and training<br />
programs for members, chambering students and sometimes<br />
the public. At full seating capacity, the auditorium can<br />
accommodate 100 participants. It is sound proof and feasible<br />
for multimedia presentation as well.<br />
The late Abdullah A. Rahman was the Chairman of the Johore<br />
Bar from 1970 – 1981. He was our longest serving Chairman<br />
and also the first Johor Bar Chairman to be elected as the<br />
President of the Malaysian Bar - for the years 1978 – 1980.<br />
A gathering of local eagles with Abdullah A Rahman family at the naming ceremony on 15.6.<strong>2015</strong><br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
15
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
16<br />
His contribution to the Malaysian Bar and especially to the<br />
Johore Bar is widely acknowledged and appreciated. His<br />
contribution was long overdue for recognition and at the last<br />
AGM of the Johor Bar members had agreed to a suggestion<br />
that his contribution is to be recognized by dedicating this<br />
auditorium in his good name. A resolution to that effect was<br />
passed and the Committee was entrusted to put the<br />
resolution into effect.<br />
We thought it is only proper that the leader of the current<br />
generation at the Bar should lead the marking of respect to a<br />
past leader. It would be an acknowledgement and respect<br />
from one generation of the Bar to another. On this, I thank<br />
our current President of the Malaysian Bar Mr Steven Thiru<br />
for agreeing to officiate this ceremony.<br />
I have restrained myself from saying much about the late<br />
Abdullah A. Rahman. That task has fallen upon Mr. S.<br />
Balarajah – a senior member of the Johore Bar and also our<br />
Past Chairman. Thank you for agreeing to deliver the citation<br />
and I am sure it is task that you have taken close to your<br />
heart.<br />
I am also happy to acknowledge the presence of 3 of our Past<br />
Presidents of the Malaysian Bar Puan Hendon Mohamed,<br />
Dato’ Khutubul Zaman and Dato Yeo Yang Poh today. Your<br />
presence reflects the respect that you have for the late<br />
Abdullah A. Rahman.<br />
Thank you too to the family of the late Abdullah A Rahman for<br />
accepting the invitation to be here today. We have with us his<br />
wife Tengku Esah Abu Bakar, his son Datuk Muthanna bin<br />
Abdullah with spouse Tengku Putri Marina Tengku Ibrahim<br />
and daughter Cik Ferizadah binti Dato’ Muthanna. I hope<br />
today’s event will give you another opportunity to recall and<br />
cherish the memories of your late husband and father.<br />
Thank you also to the previous Chairmen of the Johore Bar for<br />
accepting our invitation and being here today. To the<br />
members of the Johore Bar, your presence is important to<br />
add meaning to this event.<br />
On a final note, thank you to the organizing committee led by<br />
Mathews George and Ms Thilaga for organizing this event. -R.<br />
Jayabalan<br />
CITATION<br />
The Late YBhg Abdullah Bin Dato Abdul Rahman (1919 –<br />
1987)<br />
Five and Forty years ago after reading in the chambers of Paul<br />
Miller QC at the Goldsmith Building Middle Temple Lane<br />
London I found myself in the chambers of renowned Johor<br />
Lawyer Chelliah Paramjothy of the firm of Wong &<br />
Paramjothy. The firm Wong & Paramjothy was in the 70’s a<br />
leading firm of solicitors. Wong Peng Tuck @ P T Wong was a<br />
grandson of Wong Ah Fook a great Johore builder after whom<br />
a major road in the city is named and Param was the son of a<br />
Dr Chelliah of<br />
Segamat after<br />
whom you will find<br />
a Jalan Dr Chelliah<br />
in Segamat. Che Lah<br />
was Johore Bar<br />
Chairman. Param<br />
was in 1970 Johor<br />
Bar’s representative<br />
to the Bar Council<br />
and I was instructed<br />
by Param to pay a<br />
courtesy call on the<br />
Chairman of the<br />
Johor Bar Abdullah S Balarajah presented the Citation<br />
bin Dato Abdul<br />
Rahman<br />
(affectionately<br />
referred to by all as “Che Lah”).<br />
As I stepped into his offices I found a rather pensive looking<br />
gentleman. At once I found him to be prim and polite much<br />
like an English country squire. He appeared rather pensive<br />
and gave the impression of a very private person. He spoke in<br />
a slow measured manner. It was at my very first encounter<br />
that I found that Che Lah had the interest of Johor lawyers<br />
deeply entrenched in his breast. He lamented that lawyers<br />
from Singapore were ploughing our fields and reaping the<br />
harvest and this was detrimental to Johoreans and as such<br />
that he had proposed an amendment to Section 5 of the<br />
Advocates and Solicitors Ordinance 1947 to read that only<br />
“citizens of Malaysia or permanent residents of Malaysia”<br />
may apply to practise in Malaysia. This amendment was<br />
passed by Parliament (PU(A)123/70) and the Johore lawyers<br />
had their manna,.<br />
Che Lah who was born into a very prominent Johore family on<br />
the 11th Oct 1919. He passed on the 16th of April 1987 at a<br />
relatively young age of 68. Incidently, Paramjothy passed<br />
away on the 7th of August 1987.<br />
Che Lah was not an enigma. But he was open and transparent<br />
as much as he was opulent sophisticated and anglicized. The<br />
family of Che Lah is a most distinguished Johore family with<br />
Buginese ancestory. His father Dato Haji Abdul Rahman Bin<br />
Yasin was a direct Buginese descendant and was in his time<br />
the 1st President of the Senate and the 1st Chairman of<br />
Malayan Banking Berhad. Dato Haji Abdul Rahman had<br />
married (after Che Lah’s mother Zahara passed on), Kamariah,<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
16
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
17<br />
a sister of Dato Onn Jaafar of UMNO fame who was then<br />
Menteri Besar Johor. Dato Haji Abdul Rahman was groomed<br />
to be Menteri Besar but as he would not be a privy to<br />
political and palace intrigues he stepped aside. He then was<br />
Johor State Treasurer.<br />
Che Lah’s brother Dato Sulaiman was an economist and a<br />
member of the first Malayan cabinet (1955) and later a High<br />
Commissioner. Another brother, Tun Dr Ismail went on to<br />
become Deputy Prime Minister Malaysia. Tun Ismail was<br />
from the King Edward VII College of Medicine and was the<br />
first Malay eventually to obtain the MBBS from Melbourne.<br />
Another brother Dato Mohd Yassin did Political Science in<br />
Melbourne and went on to become Inspector of Banks and<br />
the 1st Secretary General of UMNO and later on a Johor<br />
State Exco Member The sons of Dato Haji Abdul Rahman was<br />
the envy of the Muar groups of Malay leaders because the<br />
Johor Royally looked up to the Rahmanites – the sons of<br />
Dato Haji Abdul Rahman. Che Lah<br />
and his brother Yassin married 2<br />
sisters, Che Lah, Tengku Esah and<br />
Yassin, Tengku Azizah. The noble<br />
ladies are from the Johor Royal<br />
lineage.<br />
After being called to the Bar in 1963<br />
Che Lah set up practice in Johor<br />
Bahru and practiced under the<br />
name and style of Abdullah A<br />
Rahman & Co. The most popular<br />
and affable Puan Hendon Bte<br />
Mohamed (date of Call to the Malaysian Bar 18-4-1963 at<br />
the Johor Bahru High Court before Azmi J. later Tun and Lord<br />
President) is the 1st lady President of the Malaysian Bar was<br />
close to Che Lah, She was a confidante of Che Lah and<br />
practiced with him in his Johor Bahru office.<br />
Che Lah was truly an English Barrister and held steadfast all<br />
principles and rules governing the Bar. He did not grant or<br />
give favours or appear lenient when rules principles or laws<br />
appeared to be broken or breached. He was blind to<br />
prejudices.<br />
In 1972 Che Lah invited me to be the Hon Secretary of the<br />
Johor Bar which office I held under him for 3 years. It was<br />
during this period that I became more acquainted with the<br />
man and his principles. He went by the rules and the law. A<br />
pupil of a Bar Committee Member and Senior Member of<br />
Dato Dr Wong Kim Fatt applied for shortening of the period<br />
of pupillage as he was a retired Police officer but Che Lah<br />
asked me to object to it which I did along with the Bar<br />
Council but the Judge over ruled us. You will find it reported<br />
Ong Chee Seng vs Attorney General and ors 1976(2) MLJ<br />
Bar President Steven Thiru, Dato Muthanna and S Balarajah<br />
227. A daughter of a close friend of Che Lah, Shamsiah binti<br />
Dato Ibrahim Majid drew a salary from a Johor Corp whilst<br />
reading in Chambers and again the Johor Bar objected<br />
though the Judge over-ruled us. You will find it at Shamsiah<br />
bte Ibrahim vs Attorney General 1981(1) MLJ 164. It was<br />
during Che Lah’s time as Chair that we took up the case of<br />
Keith Sellah vs Lee Kwang 1980 (2) MLJ 191 which was<br />
decided by 5 of Malaysia’s greatest Judges namely Suffian<br />
L.P, Raja Azlan Shah C.J (Malaya), Wan Suleiman F.J, Abdul<br />
Hamid Omar F.J and Hashim Yeop A. Sani J. This case set the<br />
benchmark on the standard of proof in disciplinary cases<br />
against lawyers.<br />
Then there is the case of the Will of Ali Hasan where the<br />
Johore Bar prosecuted a lawyer for witnessing the will of a<br />
dying man in 3rd degree coma. The lawyer’s office was in<br />
the same building as Che Lah’s so he abstained but the Johor<br />
Bar Committee followed the law. You will find it in<br />
Amanullah Bin Haji Ali Hasan vs<br />
Hajjah Jamilah Binti Sheik Madar<br />
1975 (1) MLJ 30.<br />
Friend or foe Che Lah went by the<br />
law. The Advocates & Solicitors<br />
Ordinance 1947 provided vast<br />
powers to the local Bar. The Legal<br />
Profession Act 1976 diluted the<br />
powers. The Ordinance gave<br />
powers of investigation into<br />
conduct of members. The Bar<br />
Committee under the LPA 1976 has<br />
become, with respects, social animal.<br />
Che Lah believed that it is the sacred duty of the Bar to resist<br />
any attempts by the political powers to strip us of our<br />
traditional legal safeguards and the self-disciplinary<br />
procedures. He felt that the independence of the Bar would<br />
be adversely affected if its power of self-discipline contained<br />
in itself from time immemorial is removed.<br />
The Chairmanship of the Johor Bar was held by Che Lah from<br />
1970 to 1981. He went on to become President of the<br />
Malaysian Bar and Chairman of the Bar Council Malaysia<br />
from 1978-1981. He was the 1st Johorean to achieve this. It<br />
is important to note that during Che Lah’s tenure as<br />
chairman of the Malaysian Bar that the most important rules<br />
relating to practice at the Bar were formulated and gazetted<br />
on 2.10.1978 – it is the Legal Profession (Practice and<br />
Etiquette) Rule 1978. These Rules are akin to the Magna<br />
Carta of the Malaysian Bar. Che Lah was a Senator in the<br />
Malaysian Dewan Negara from 1968-1974. He was a<br />
Director, inter alia, of the Cold Storage Group of Companies<br />
and was also the 1st Chairman of Johore Tenggara. He was a<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
17
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
18<br />
part time Judicial Commissioner of the High Courts, Malaya, in<br />
the 1970s.<br />
Che Lah, Justice Dato Ali Hassan, ACP X.A. Nicholas (father of YA<br />
Indran Nicholas of Ipoh) who was then the Johor Police CID<br />
Chief and the then DPP Johor, Kadir Kassim (presently of Kadir,<br />
Andri & Partners KL) started the Johor Bench and Bar vs Johor<br />
Police cricket tournament in 1967 which games are played till<br />
today for the coveted Ali Hassan Trophy. The 3 gentlemen were<br />
cricket lovers and relics of the colonial past, one might say.<br />
Che Lah was a strict disciplinarian. He was unassuming and<br />
unrivalled for his humility but he had the temerity to correct<br />
the most pugnacious of puisne judges no matter how senior in<br />
his own inimitable style. There was a Bar Dinner 1975 when he<br />
gave such a bold speech protecting the members of the Bar and<br />
took the local Judge and Bench to task so much so that the<br />
Judge (Justice Dato Syed Othman Ali) was so embarrassed that<br />
he walked out of the dinner. The docile Bar Committee<br />
subsequently pondered if the Committee should have a preview<br />
and vet and veto all the Chairman’s future speeches! But Che<br />
Lah will have none of it. He was bold and upright. And honest.<br />
He even felt that members subscriptions could not be used to<br />
defray the coffee and kuih muih served at the monthly<br />
meetings of the Bar Committee as it was trust monies and so<br />
we the Committee members took turns to pay for the<br />
refreshments at the monthly Bar Committee meetings! He was<br />
not parsimonious but was cautious of the trust imposed on him<br />
by members. He was fearless sturdy and independent. He never<br />
kow-towed to the rich famous and powerful. He insisted<br />
lawyers follow the Legal Profession (Practice of Etiquette) Rules<br />
1978 and he was a strict adherent of the Rules.<br />
In 1965 the Yang Di Pertuan Agong bestowed upon Che Lah the<br />
title of Johan Mangku Negara (JMN). He also had the Johor<br />
State honours of Setia Mahkota Johor(SMJ). Che Lah had an<br />
indulgent eye and a forgiving mind but he never sought fame<br />
and name which with his pedigree and connections he could<br />
have achieved in a whisper. He carried on life very much like an<br />
English squire and Barrister. He was bold upright and fearless<br />
and had priceless integrity and sturdy independence. A rare<br />
breed indeed. One could say that he was the pride of the Johor<br />
Bar. I have always proclaimed him as my mentor.<br />
Che Lah’s only child Dato Muthanna Bin Abdullah of the Hon.<br />
Society of The Middle Temple a Barrister-at-Law was until<br />
recently the Managing Partner of Lee Hishammudin & Allen<br />
Gledhill Kuala Lumpur. He now practices in the firm of Abdullah<br />
Chan & Co. in Kuala Lumpur.<br />
One could assert with unabashed pride that YBhg Abdullah Bin<br />
Dato Haji Abdul Rahman is to the Johore Bar what YM Raja Aziz<br />
Addruse is to the Malaysian Bar. It is only just reasonable and<br />
proper to adhere to and comply with the wishes of the<br />
members of the Johore Bar to name the main hall at the Johore<br />
Bar Secretariat as the “Abdullah A. Rahman Hall”. Generations<br />
after generations of lawyers will remember this good man and<br />
lawyer who always had the best interest of the lawyers in<br />
general and the Johore Bar in particular embedded in his<br />
breasts. Abdullah A. Rahman lived respected and died<br />
regretted.<br />
Che Lah always wanted a building for the Johore Bar and told us<br />
that lawyers will be proud to see a Johore Bar Building on a<br />
main thoroughfare. He planted the seeds but did not see it<br />
grow. He believed as a per a Greek philosopher that “A society<br />
grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know<br />
they shall never sit in”.<br />
Che Lah passed away on the 16th April 1987. In 2017 2 years<br />
time, it will be 30 years since his passing. Though it is 3 decades,<br />
the Johore Bar is be commended for the honor of remembering<br />
the man and what he stood for, so that, future generation of<br />
lawyers will remember the stalwart of the legal profession of<br />
Johore. Abraham Lincoln said: “All that I am, or hope to be, I<br />
owe to my angel mother.” For me all that I have been or even<br />
hoped to be at the Bar I owe it to my mentor Che Lah. This is<br />
my tribute of admiration and affection for Che Lah who urged<br />
me to follow the wise and profound words of Francis Bacon<br />
(1561-1626) who said: “I hold every man a debtor to his<br />
profession; from the which as men of course do seek to receive<br />
countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavour<br />
themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament<br />
thereunto.”<br />
Thank you.<br />
S. Balarajah<br />
Chairman Johore Bar<br />
(1989-1991, 2004-2005 and 2010-2011)<br />
15th June <strong>2015</strong><br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
18
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
19<br />
Hyde Park Corner<br />
A Miscellany At Law and A Potpourri<br />
compiled by S. Balarajah<br />
CRITISING JUDGES<br />
By Gurdial Singh Nijar<br />
JUDGES live in cloistered silos. They can only<br />
be really judged by their behaviour in court.<br />
The decisions they make are in the public<br />
domain and subject to public scrutiny.<br />
Quite naturally, these decisions are<br />
evaluated and commented upon. This is in<br />
the nature of an open society, where judicial<br />
pronouncements are made in full view of<br />
the public; and reproduced in law reports<br />
and the media. Criticisms or accolades are to<br />
be expected. Some expressed in temperate<br />
and nuanced language; others a little more<br />
stridently. Some cross the line and are rude<br />
and crude.<br />
(The Sun, 16-2-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
SRI LANKA ARRESTS TOP JUDGE OVER SEX<br />
ASSAULT<br />
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police Tuesday made<br />
the first ever arrest of a Supreme Court<br />
judge who was detained in connection with<br />
an alleged sexual assault, an official said.<br />
Sarath de Abrew was arrested following investigations<br />
into a complaint that he tried to<br />
force a 39-year-old woman to have sex with<br />
him on the outskirts of Colombo and beat<br />
her up when she refused, a police official<br />
said.<br />
The judge, who is in his 60s, was taken before<br />
a magistrate who ordered his release<br />
on personal bail of half a million rupees<br />
(RM14,500), police said.<br />
"The magistrate also ordered the judge to<br />
cooperate with the Criminal Investigations<br />
Department (of the police) and make a<br />
statement," a police official said.<br />
"He had previously refused to make a statement<br />
to the police."<br />
Victor Ivan, an author who has written extensively<br />
on the country's judiciary, said it<br />
was the first time in Sri Lanka's history that a<br />
judge from the apex court has been arrested.<br />
Supreme court judges can only be removed<br />
through a complicated impeachment process<br />
in parliament.<br />
Sri Lanka's parliament was dissolved last<br />
month ahead of elections next month. – AFP<br />
‘FINGER RAPE MAN MUST PAY’<br />
(The Sun, 9-7-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
KUCHING: The mother of the “finger rape”<br />
victim wants the acquitted rapist to pay<br />
compensation and maintenance to her<br />
daughter.<br />
The 51-year-old mother, Rosmiati Abdullah,<br />
has sought legal help to pursue the<br />
RM40,000 compensation awarded by the<br />
Sessions Court when convicting Bunya<br />
Jalong in 2013.<br />
He was then convicted of four counts of raping<br />
the underaged girl at a hotel in Sibu in<br />
2011.<br />
The girl became pregnant and gave birth on<br />
Feb 5, 2012.<br />
A DNA test confirmed Bunya as the baby’s<br />
father.<br />
Last year, the High Court dismissed Bunya’s<br />
appeal against the conviction, varied the<br />
imprisonment sentences and ordered him to<br />
pay the compensation.<br />
However, he was acquitted on May 7 by the<br />
Court of Appeal, which ruled that the man<br />
could not be convicted based on the present<br />
legal definition of rape, which covers only<br />
penile penetration.<br />
(The Star, 11-6-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
Justice Mah retires<br />
PUTRAJAYA:<br />
Court of Appeal<br />
judge Justice Datuk<br />
Mah Weng<br />
Kwai (pic), who<br />
defanged the<br />
Peaceful Assembly Act and gave<br />
the Teoh Beng Hock case a second<br />
chance, will be retiring.<br />
Justice Mah turns 66 on Feb 4. He<br />
has reached the mandatory retiring<br />
age or as he joked “the age of statutory<br />
senility”.<br />
Human rights worsened<br />
PETALING JAYA: The use of the<br />
Sedition Act to crack down on dissent<br />
has led to the suppression of<br />
freedom of expression, according<br />
to Amnesty International’s Report<br />
2014/15 which surveyed 160<br />
countries and territories<br />
“In Malaysia, human rights have<br />
worsened over the years. During<br />
the Chinese New Year celebration<br />
this year, we saw a crackdown on<br />
human rights defenders, opposition<br />
and student activists. They<br />
were arrested under the Sedition<br />
Act and the Penal Code was used in<br />
suppressing their voices.<br />
Jealous lover eats rival’s heart<br />
“Everyone<br />
should have the<br />
opportunity to<br />
voice their opinions.<br />
We don’t<br />
have to agree<br />
with these opinions, but it can be<br />
debated,” said Amnesty International<br />
Malaysia executive director<br />
Shamini Darshni.<br />
(The Sun, 27-2-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
19
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE 20<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
Father of the pill dies at 91<br />
SAN FRANCISCO: Carl<br />
Djerassi (pic), the chemist<br />
widely considered the father<br />
of the birth control<br />
pill, has died.<br />
Djerrasi died of complications<br />
of cancer in his San Francisco home,<br />
Stanford University spokesman Dan Stober<br />
said. He was 91.<br />
Djerassi, a professor emeritus of chemistry<br />
at Stanford, was most famous for leading a<br />
research team in Mexico City that in 1951<br />
developed norethindrone, a synthetic molecule<br />
that became a key component of the<br />
first birth control pill.<br />
“The pill”, as it came to be known, radically<br />
transformed sexual practices and women’s<br />
lives.<br />
(The Star, 2-2-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
Online shopping scams<br />
KUALA LUMPUR: Online scams are on the<br />
rise, with six cases reported last year to<br />
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department.<br />
Among the victims of this scam was a man<br />
who bought a penis enlarger but received a<br />
magnifying glass instead!<br />
Department head Datuk Michael Chong said<br />
the customer, who wished to be known only<br />
as Ong from Seri Kembangan, paid RM450<br />
for the penis enlarger. Chong said this was<br />
among the cases of people falling victim to<br />
online scams.<br />
(The Sun, 4-6-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
‘Adultery not a crime’<br />
SEOUL: South Korea’s Constitutional Court<br />
yesterday struck down a controversial adultery<br />
law which for more than 60 years had<br />
criminalized extra-marital sex and jailed<br />
violators for up to two years.<br />
The nine-member bench ruled by seven to<br />
two that the 1953 statute aimed at protecting<br />
traditional family values was unconstitutional.<br />
“Even if adultery should be condemned<br />
as immoral, state power should<br />
not intervene in individuals’ private lives,”<br />
said presiding justice Park Han-Chul.<br />
(The Sun, 27-2-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
Nagging wives and sex-crazed<br />
husbands<br />
NAGGING wives and sexcrazed<br />
husbands are<br />
among the top five<br />
reasons cited by Muslim<br />
couples who filed for<br />
divorce in Selangor last<br />
year, reported Harian<br />
Metro.<br />
According to the Jais marriage and divorce<br />
department head registrar Aluwi Parman, the<br />
other three reasons are religious ignorance,<br />
financial instability and interference from third<br />
parties.<br />
“Muslim divorce rates in Selangor shot up to<br />
6,912 cases last year, compared to 6,162 cases in<br />
2013. Of these, 3,156 cases last year involved<br />
couples aged between 31 and 35 years,” he said.<br />
Aluwi also believed divorce cases in Selangor<br />
were constantly increasing due to population<br />
density and married couples from other states<br />
moving here for work.<br />
The whistleblower<br />
By Gurdial Singh Nijar<br />
SOMETHING is clearly rotten in the state<br />
of our enforcement. The latest bizarre<br />
episode involves the declared intention<br />
by the inspector-general of police (IGP)<br />
to investigate the person who leaked the<br />
documents relating to the land deal by<br />
1MDB to Tabung Haji. In other words the<br />
IGP wants to go for the person who blew<br />
the whistle.<br />
(The Sun, 25-5-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
Muslim girl won Bhagavad Gita<br />
contest<br />
A 12-year-old Muslim<br />
girl won a<br />
contest on the<br />
Hindu holy book<br />
Bhagavad Gita and<br />
then donated the prize money to improve<br />
childhood education, Tamil Nesan<br />
reported.<br />
Maryam Sidduqi from Mumbai, Maharashtra,<br />
won the yearly contest on Gita<br />
knowledge organised by the International<br />
Society for Krishna Consciousness<br />
(ISCKON). Students study the Gita and answer<br />
questions in an exam format. Maryam<br />
won the contest, beating more than 3,000<br />
participants.<br />
On receiving the 1.1 million Indian rupees<br />
(RM611,000) prize money, she handed it<br />
back to the Uttar Pradesh state chief minister.<br />
Maryam said she was inspired by Pakistani<br />
Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai who<br />
campaigned for education rights for girls.<br />
(The Star, 11-6-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
BRIDE WALKS OUT AFTER MAN FAILS TO SOLVE MATHS PROB-<br />
LEM<br />
NEW DELHI: An Indian bride has walked out of her wedding ceremony<br />
after her groom-to-be failed to solve a simple math problem, police<br />
said. The bride tested the groom on his math skills and when he got the<br />
sum wrong, she walked out. The question she asked: How much is 15<br />
plus six?<br />
His reply: 17<br />
(The Star, 14-3-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
WORLD’S FIRST ‘FEELING’ ARTIFICIAL LEG<br />
VIENNA: The world’s fist artificial leg capable of simulating the feelings<br />
of a real limb and fighting phantom pain will be unveiled by researchers<br />
here today.<br />
The innovation is the result of a two-fold process, developed by Professor<br />
Hubert Egger at the University of Linz in northern Austria.<br />
Surgeons first rewired remaining foot nerve endings from a patient’s<br />
stump to healthy tissue in the thigh, placing them close to the skin surface.<br />
Six sensors were then fitted to the foot sole of a lightweight prosthesis,<br />
and linked to so-called stimulators inside the shaft where the stump<br />
sits.<br />
(The Sun, 9-6-<strong>2015</strong>)<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
20
HOW DOES <strong>2015</strong> BUDGET AFFECT THE<br />
REAL PROPERTY GAINS TAX ?<br />
By Yang Pei Keng - 5 May <strong>2015</strong><br />
The Prime Minister cum Finance<br />
Minister Najib Razak delivered his<br />
<strong>2015</strong> Budget Speech on 10 October<br />
2014. The <strong>2015</strong> Budget made some<br />
amendments to the Real Property<br />
Gains Tax 1976 *RPGT Act+. It affects<br />
the RPGT on any transfer of property,<br />
as well as the stamp duty payable<br />
on the transfers and loan documents.<br />
Pursuant to the <strong>2015</strong> Budget Speech, Parliament passed the<br />
Finance (No.2) Act 2014. The relevant provisions of the Finance<br />
Act relating to RPGT and stamp duty only came into effect on 1<br />
January <strong>2015</strong>.<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
price. There is an increase of 50% of the original retention sum.<br />
2. What is the date of acquisition for a deceased’s asset<br />
acquired BEFORE 1-1-1970? *date of acquisition = 1-1-1970+<br />
These are rare cases of disposal of any asset acquired many years<br />
ago, some 45 years ago (i.e. before 1-1-1970) by a person now<br />
deceased. For purposes of computing RPGT payable, under the<br />
latest amendment, the deceased is deemed to have acquired his<br />
asset on 1-1-1970, and that is deemed to be the date of<br />
acquisition of the deceased. The actual date of purchase *say<br />
much earlier, in the year 1960+ is not to be taken into<br />
account. *See para 4, Schedule 2+. By way of a ‘legal fiction”, it is<br />
deemed to be bought on 1-1-1970.<br />
21<br />
How does the <strong>2015</strong> Budget affect the RPGT?<br />
The amendments to the RPGT Act introduced by the 2014<br />
Finance Act *passed pursuant to the <strong>2015</strong> Budget+ largely touch<br />
on the following issues:<br />
1. The increase in the retention sum to be remitted to the<br />
Board<br />
2. The date of acquisition of any deceased’s asset acquired<br />
before 1-1-1970?<br />
3. The recipient’s acquisition price of transfer for love and<br />
affection (a gift) from a foreign donor.<br />
4. It is to be noted that there is no change in the rates of RPGT<br />
payable. The rates of RPGT remain the same as those in the<br />
year 2014.<br />
The retention sum is increased from 2% to 3% *s.21B amended+<br />
Before the amendments, in the sale or disposal of any property,<br />
the buyer *or acquirer+ was to retain or withhold 2% of the<br />
purchase price *or the value of the consideration+.<br />
But with effect from 1 January <strong>2015</strong>, the buyer is to withhold or<br />
retain 3% (instead of 2%) of the purchase price, and remit it to<br />
the IRB within 60 days of the sale, and remit it to the Inland<br />
Revenue Board *IRB+ or LHDN *Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri+<br />
within 60 days from the date of the sale *or disposal+ of the<br />
property. If the buyer fails to do so, he has to pay a penalty<br />
amounting to 10% of the retention sum.<br />
The real reason for the increase in the retention sum, does not<br />
seem to have been made known to the public. The IRB probably<br />
felt that the 2% retention sum is insufficient to cover the actual<br />
amount of RPGT payable in most of the cases. It has therefore<br />
increased the retention sum from 2% to 3% of the purchase<br />
Before the amendment, the words “the value of the asset for<br />
estate duty purposes” appeared in Schedule 2 of the RPGT Act.<br />
*See para 4(3)(d)+. But the estate duty has long been abolished in<br />
Malaysia since the year 1982. That was about 33 years ago.<br />
Such provision is therefore no longer applicable for purposes of<br />
computing RPGT.<br />
The recent amendment is to replace those words by the<br />
expression “the market value of the asset as at the date of death<br />
of the deceased person…”.<br />
Illustration 1:<br />
A person D bought a shophouse in the year 2000. He died in<br />
2014. After winding up his estate, D’s executor sold it on<br />
5/5/<strong>2015</strong>. The date of death of the deceased person *2014+ is<br />
deemed to be the date of acquisition by D. The actual date of<br />
purchase (year 2000) by D is not to be taken into account. The<br />
simple formula is :<br />
Date of death of the deceased = the date of acquisition by the<br />
deceased<br />
Facts given in the illustration :<br />
1) Year 2000 - D bought a shophouse.<br />
2) 1/1/2014 – D died .<br />
3) 5/5/<strong>2015</strong> - D’s executor sold the shophouse.<br />
Note:<br />
a. The actual date of the purchase *year 2000+ is not D’s date of<br />
acquisition<br />
b. D’s date of death *1/1/2014+ is deemed to be the D’s date of<br />
acquisition.<br />
c. The executor sold the shophouse on 5/5/<strong>2015</strong>. It is a<br />
disposal more than 1 year *i.e. 1/1/2014 -- 5-5-<strong>2015</strong>+ after D<br />
is deemed to have acquired the property.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
21
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
22<br />
d. It is a disposal in the 2 nd year after acquisition. 30% RPGT is<br />
therefore payable.<br />
This provision affects the disposal by an executor *or<br />
administrator+ of any asset of the deceased after Grant of<br />
Probate *or the Letters of Administration+, has been granted.<br />
If the assets of the deceased had been transferred to the<br />
beneficiaries, the date of acquisition of the beneficiaries is<br />
different. The date of acquisition of the beneficiary is the date of<br />
transfer by the executior/ administrator to the<br />
beneficiary. The simple formula is:<br />
Date of transfer to beneficiary by executor/administrator = date<br />
of acquisition by the beneficiary<br />
Illustration 2:<br />
1. On 1/1/ 2012, an executor “as representative”, transferred<br />
a semi-detached house in Johor Bahru *an asset of the estate<br />
of the deceased+ to the beneficiary B *Malaysian citizen+<br />
2. On 28/2/<strong>2015</strong>, B sold the property to a third party at the<br />
price of RM950,000.<br />
Note:<br />
a. 1/1/2012 *date of transfer to the beneficiary+ is the date of<br />
acquisition of B the beneficiary.<br />
b. B sold it within the 4th year *1/1/2012 to 28/2/<strong>2015</strong>+.<br />
c. B, as a citizen, has to pay 20% RPGT.<br />
3. Acquisition price of a gift = acquisition price paid by donor *+<br />
permitted expenses+<br />
In the case of any gift between close relatives *husband and<br />
wife, parent and child, grandparent and grandchild+ the<br />
acquisition price paid by the donor (plus permitted expenses) is<br />
deemed to be the acquisition price of the recipient of the gift<br />
*See Para 12 Schedule 2,+. In brief:<br />
Recipient’s acquisition price = donor’s acquisition price (plus<br />
permitted expenses).<br />
Illustration 3:<br />
1. In the year 2000, a father F bought a double-storey terraced<br />
house in Taman Tasek, Johor Bahru at the price of<br />
RM200,000.<br />
2. In <strong>2015</strong>, F for love and affection, transferred it to his son S.<br />
Note:<br />
a. RM200,000 *F’s acquisition price (plus permitted expenses)+<br />
is deemed to be S’s acquisition price.<br />
b. <strong>2015</strong> *date of transfer+ is S’s date of acquisition.<br />
4. Gifts by foreigners: foreigner’s acquisition price = recipient’s<br />
acquisition price<br />
A foreigner’s acquisition price (plus permitted expenses) is<br />
deemed to be the recipient’s acquisition price, if the gift is made<br />
within 5 years after the donor acquired it. *See Schedule 2, para<br />
12(2)(b)+<br />
After the amendment pursuant to the <strong>2015</strong> Budget, a sub-para of<br />
Schedule 2 of the RPGT Act was replaced. It relates to the gift<br />
made by a foreign donor. If the donor is a foreigner *non-citizen<br />
and non-permanent resident+ the same principle mentioned in<br />
paragraph 3 above applies.<br />
In other words, if a foreigner *non-permanent resident+ donates<br />
a gift to a close relative *e.g. his wife or his son+, within 5 years of<br />
his acquisition of the property, the recipient (close relative) is<br />
deemed to have acquired the gift at the same price paid by the<br />
foreigner *plus permitted expenses+ within the 5 years of his<br />
acquisition. No gains tax is payable.<br />
llustration 4:<br />
1. In 2013, a Singaporean bought a semi-detached house in<br />
Horizon Hills, Johor Bahru at RM900,000.<br />
2. RM900,000 was his acquisition price. His date of acquisition<br />
was 2013.<br />
3. In <strong>2015</strong>, for love and affection, he gave the house to his wife,<br />
a Malaysian.<br />
4. He therefore gave the house to his wife within 2 years *2013<br />
- <strong>2015</strong>+<br />
5. His wife’s acquisition price is RM900,000 (plus permitted<br />
expenses)<br />
Note:<br />
a) Foreign husband’s acquisition price = wife’s acquisition price<br />
*disposal within 5 years+<br />
b) There is no gain and no loss in this case. No RPGT is payable<br />
This would mean that the Singaporean in this case does not have<br />
to pay any RPGT, normally payable by a foreigner *or nonpermanent<br />
resident+ when he gave his house to his wife.<br />
Usually, a foreigner has to pay 30% RPGT for the first 5 years of<br />
his acquiring the property. But the recent <strong>2015</strong> amendment is to<br />
the effect that even a foreigner *or non-permanent resident+ is<br />
entitled to the same treatment as a citizen or permanent<br />
resident in cases involving gifts between close relatives.<br />
Yang Pei Keng<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
22
Congratulations To The Newly Admitted Members of The Bar (Johor)<br />
(As at time of publication)<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
No Name Firm Date of Admission<br />
1. Farhana binti Tupani A Rahim & Co 25/01/<strong>2015</strong><br />
2. Mohamad Zamzam bin Ramli Zaid Ibrahim & Co 25/01/<strong>2015</strong><br />
3. Muhammad Firdaus bin Adnan Muhammad Abd Kadir & Co 25/01/<strong>2015</strong><br />
4. Nur Syahirah binti Apisah Othman Hashim & Co 08/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
5. Sharmaine Fairuz binti Mohd Zulkifli Syed Alwi, Ng & Co 08/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
6. Sharmini a/p Jiwan Syed Alwi, Ng & Co 08/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
7. Baharudin bin Baharim Yeo Hock Thye & Co 15/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
8. Nur Adilah binti Bakeri Kik Fenny & Co 15/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
9. Nur Azizi binti Wagini M N Halim Syaffie & Associates 15/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
10. Nur’ain binti Zaharudin Hong & Fong 15/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
11. Siti Amizah binti Amdan Keah & Choo 15/03/<strong>2015</strong><br />
12. Muhammad Rafiq Akmal bin Mohd Daud Syed Alwi, Ng & Co 19/04/<strong>2015</strong><br />
13. Ragupathy Naidu a/l TVR Chinniah Naidu Zulkafli, Rani & Co 19/04/<strong>2015</strong><br />
14. Izzah Zahin binti Aliman Syed Alwi, Ng & Co 07/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
15. Liew Ee Ling Skrine 07/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
16. Yap Che Kai KS Pang & Co 07/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
17. Deborah Joanne Samuel Veizay & Company 15/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
18. Choong Pei Ying Tan Chuah Shuaib & Co 17/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
19. Iskandar Shah bin Ibrahim No Firm 17/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
20. Syafiqah Amirah binti Razali Mohd Amin, Ng & Associates 17/06/<strong>2015</strong><br />
21. Salma Sakeena binti Mohamad Hassan Azwad Ihsan & Co 07/07/<strong>2015</strong><br />
22. Ezzati binti Ahmad Salam V P Nathan & Partners 12/07/<strong>2015</strong><br />
23. Mohd Fazaly Ali bin Mohd Ghazaly No Firm 12/07/<strong>2015</strong><br />
24. Ainna Sherina binti Saipolamin Zaid Ibrahim & Co 26/07/<strong>2015</strong><br />
25. Eunice Teo Su Yin Zaid Ibrahim & Co 26/07/<strong>2015</strong><br />
26. Rabiatul Adawiyah binti Md Nordin Zaid Ibrahim & Co 26/07/<strong>2015</strong><br />
27. Amy Ling Leh Sang Lee & Tengku Azrina 02/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
28. Ezyan Nadia binti Elias Kamal Hisham & Associates 02/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
29. Kartiyaini a/p Jeyapalan Iqbal Hakim Sia & Voo 02/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
30. Lennon Seow Y K Chin 02/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
31. Mohamad Alias bin Rasman Ikbal Salam & Associates 02/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
32. Nurhamizah binti Abdul Rahman A Rahim & Co 02/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
33. Jackie Mary Fernandis S E Wong & Co 09/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
34. Mohd Sharwan bin Abu Bakar Albar & Partners 09/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
35. Muhammad Amir bin Arsad Abdul Rahman & Partners 09/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
36. Nurul Aimi binti Osman A K Yeong & Co 09/08/<strong>2015</strong><br />
23<br />
23
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
24<br />
BLAST FROM THE PAST<br />
Tun Abdul Razak’s Call To The Bar<br />
Contributed by Mr S Balarajah<br />
The Honourable Tun Abdul Razak bin Dato Hussein then<br />
addressed the court:<br />
“May it please Your Lordship, I crave the indulgence of this<br />
court to say a few words.<br />
My Lord, I should like to thank Your Lordship for<br />
giving me the privilege of saying a few words today on my<br />
being admitted to the Malaysian Bar. I am grateful to the<br />
Attorney Mr. V.C. George Chairman of the Bar Council<br />
States of Malaya and to Mr. Ronald Khoo Chairman of the<br />
Bar Committee Selangor, for their kind and generous words<br />
of welcome to me. I am happy and honoured by the<br />
kindness and support shown not only by Members of the<br />
Bar but also by so many learned friends either present in<br />
this Honourable Court or outside.<br />
My Lord, when the news of my intention to be<br />
admitted to the Malaysian Bar was known, a number of my<br />
colleagues, friends and political supporters came to me<br />
asking me why I should decide to be admitted to the Bar at<br />
this time when I have an important and most responsible<br />
job as Prime Minister of this country. I explained to them<br />
that as one whose youth was spent in the studies of the<br />
law, my natural ambition of course was to carry out a legal<br />
practice and eventually, if luck would have it, to end my<br />
career on the Bench. However, due to a twist of fate, as<br />
soon as I completed my studies and was called to the Bar at<br />
the Lincoln’s Inn, I decided to go into politics and contribute<br />
my part in the struggle for independence of our country.<br />
Having now served in the political field for more<br />
than 25 years and reached the pinnacle of my career, I have<br />
therefore achieved my ambition in that field. I am now left<br />
with one other ambition, that is to be admitted to the Bar<br />
of my own country. My Lord, I do not think it is possible nor<br />
proper for me to aspire to sit on the Bench having spent the<br />
best years of my life in politics, nor will it be my intention to<br />
carry out legal practice as I intend to continue to serve the<br />
country in the political field for as long as the people want<br />
me to do so. However, I regard it as an honour and a<br />
personal satisfaction to be admitted to the Bar of this<br />
country and to join my other learned friends and<br />
contemporaries in the legal fraternity.<br />
When my distinguished predecessor the Tunku was<br />
admitted to the Malaysian Bar last year at the late age of 71<br />
years, he predicted that I would possibly be the only one<br />
who might be able to break his record of being called to the<br />
Bar at an even later age. However, unlike the Tunku, I<br />
decided to apply for admission now and not leave it to later<br />
years as I believe that whatever honour and privilege that<br />
one has, one should enjoy them while one has the strength<br />
and capacity to do so. After the age of 71 years whatever<br />
apparent strength that one may show, there is no doubt<br />
that one only has the capacity to enjoy such honour and<br />
privilege and indeed all the good things of life, only in mind.<br />
The Tunku also talked about the many surprises he had in<br />
the course of his life. There is no doubt that amid the<br />
changes and chances of political life, one meets with many<br />
surprises. In my own case, as life unfolds, I found that I<br />
received many more university degrees than the<br />
examinations I have ever passed. I was also elected<br />
Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn without having to<br />
distinguish myself in the legal profession.<br />
As I said, I regard it as an honour and real privilege<br />
to be admitted to the Bar at this stage of my life. I would<br />
like to thank all my friends and Members of the Bar for the<br />
support and the genuine friendship they have shown. It is<br />
also a privilege for me to be admitted today together with<br />
my old friend and colleague, Tan Sri Nik Ahmad Kamil.<br />
Whatever changes and chances the future may bring, today<br />
will remain a proud and happy moment of my life the<br />
memories of which I shall always treasure for as long as I<br />
live.”<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
24
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> ACTIVITIES<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
25<br />
Professional Standards Course on 27 & 28 Jan <strong>2015</strong><br />
Talk by Mr R Jayabalan<br />
Mr K Mohan, imparting his wisdom<br />
Professional Standards Course on 27 & 28 Jan <strong>2015</strong> And<br />
Dinner at KSL Resorts Johor Bahru<br />
Pupils awaiting the Guests of Honour at the Ethics Course Dinner<br />
On 27 - 28 Jan <strong>2015</strong>, the Continuing Professional<br />
Development Committee together with the Social<br />
Committee organised the Professional Standards Course<br />
that was attended by 50 pupils. Senior Members of the Bar<br />
exposed these pupils to various aspects of practice such as<br />
maintenance of client accounts, conduct with clients,<br />
courts and fellow lawyers, and the good values of practice<br />
at the Bar. The following day was the exam, and the<br />
course ended with a memorable formal dinner with the<br />
High Court Judges and Judicial Commissioners at KSL<br />
Resort, Johor Bahru. The guest speaker at the dinner was<br />
Andrew Wong Fook Hin who shared his experience with<br />
the Bar and Bench.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
25
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
26<br />
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> ACTIVITIES<br />
Seminar on the Basics of Cross-Examination in Civil and<br />
Commercial Trials on 9 Feb <strong>2015</strong><br />
participants attended, concluded with a small token of<br />
appreciation to the speaker.<br />
The Johore Bar Gala Dinner & Dance <strong>2015</strong> was held on 14<br />
Feb <strong>2015</strong> at Renaissance Hotel Johor Bahru. The event was<br />
graced by the presence of the two Judges of the Johor<br />
Bahru High Court, YA Dato’ Mohd Sofian bin Tan Sri Abd<br />
Razak and his spouse Datin Norhuda binti Hussin and YA<br />
Tuan Teo Say Eng.<br />
Some senior ones and some juniors!<br />
The seminar was presented by Brendan Navin Siva on the<br />
Basics of Cross-Examination in Civil and Commercial Trials.<br />
The seminar was attended by 74 participants.<br />
Seminar on Handling Drugs Trials and Appeals on 7 Feb<br />
<strong>2015</strong>.<br />
The dinner commenced with a welcome speech by the<br />
Johore Bar Social Committee Chairperson Fadhil Ihsan<br />
(Dale). This was followed by a sumptuous fusion course<br />
menu dinner, accompanied by a live band performance by<br />
The Jazz Clique and a stand-up comedy performance by<br />
Harith Iskander, while the Master of Ceremony for the<br />
night was Suriakala Sivalingam from Fly FM.<br />
Leading Advocate Hisham Teh Poh Teik<br />
Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 14 February <strong>2015</strong> at<br />
JOTIC Auditorium<br />
The Johore Bar Continuing Professional Development (CPD)<br />
Committee invited Hisyam Teh Poh Teik to deliver a talk on<br />
Handling Drugs Trials and Appeals. The talk which have 50<br />
The JBC facing the firing squad at AGM<br />
On 14 Feb <strong>2015</strong>, the Johore Bar’s Annual General Meeting<br />
(AGM) was held in JOTIC Auditorium with 70 members in<br />
attendance.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
26
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
27<br />
Futsal boys ready for the game.<br />
North vs South Johore Bar Games <strong>2015</strong><br />
The Johore Bar Sports and North Johore Affairs<br />
Committees jointly organised the North-vs-South Johore<br />
Bar Games <strong>2015</strong> on 6 June <strong>2015</strong> at Batu Pahat, after<br />
going into hibernation since 2007. Five games were<br />
played namely, golf, netball, futsal, table-tennis and<br />
badminton. The games were drew ended with prizegiving<br />
ceremony followed by high tea at PineTree Hotel,<br />
Batu Pahat, Johor.<br />
We are ready!<br />
The evergreen Dato’ Wong Kim Fatt with the boys<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
27
[Johor Bar Gala—Dinner and Dance <strong>2015</strong>]<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
28<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
28
[Johor Bar Gala—Dinner and Dance <strong>2015</strong>]<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
29<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
29
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
30<br />
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> ACTIVITIES<br />
Seminar on Family Law held on 9 Apr <strong>2015</strong><br />
On 9 Apr <strong>2015</strong>, the Continuing Professional Development<br />
(CPD) Committee of the Johore Bar along with the Bar<br />
Council Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”)<br />
Department, jointly organised a seminar on Family Law as<br />
part of the CPD Regional Training Series.<br />
JBC Courtesy Call on the Judges and Judicial ommissioners<br />
of the High Court in Johor Bahru on 15 Apr <strong>2015</strong><br />
As a tradition, the re-elected Committee paid a courtesy<br />
call on the Judges and Judicial Commissioners of the High<br />
Court in Johor Bahru on 15 Apr <strong>2015</strong> Criminal High Court in<br />
Johor Bahru.<br />
Johore Bar Informal High Tea on 7 May <strong>2015</strong><br />
The North Johor Affairs Committee organized a high tea to<br />
get together with Committee members and north Johor<br />
members at Muar Traders Hotel, Muar Johor.<br />
Pushpa Ratnam was the invited speaker and she gave a<br />
lively and engaging talk to members of the Johore Bar. A<br />
total of 33 participants were present.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
30
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
31<br />
Professional Standards Course Dinner on 28 January <strong>2015</strong><br />
Seminar for Lawyers on Managing Office and Clients’<br />
Accounts on 8 May <strong>2015</strong><br />
Talk on Procedures in Industrial Court on 12 May <strong>2015</strong><br />
On 8 May <strong>2015</strong>, Lim Kien Chai @ KC, a member of the KL<br />
Bar, presented the seminar for lawyers on Managing<br />
Office and Client’s Accounts, held at the Johore Bar<br />
Auditorium with a total of 90 participants were present.<br />
The Continuing Professional Development (CPD)<br />
Committee has invited Tuan Roslan bin Mat Nor,<br />
Chairman of the Industrial Court Johor Bahru to gave a<br />
talk on Procedures in Industrial Court to members of the<br />
Johore Bar. There were 30 participants.<br />
Advocacy Training Course<br />
On 12 and 13 June <strong>2015</strong>, the Advocacy Training Course<br />
(ATC) was conducted at the Johor Bahru Court Complex<br />
jointly organised with the Bar Council Continuing<br />
Professional Development (“CPD”) Department. Had 11<br />
members took part in the ATC. The trainers involved<br />
were Shahareen Begum, Ooi Huey Miin, Jaspal Singh and<br />
T. Sudhar.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
31
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
32<br />
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> ACTIVITIES<br />
Public Forum Prevention of Terrorism Act <strong>2015</strong> (“POTA”) and the amendments to the Sedition Act 1948<br />
On 15 June <strong>2015</strong> the Johore Bar Human Rights Committee jointly organised with the Bar Council a public forum on<br />
the Prevention of Terrorism Act <strong>2015</strong> (“POTA”) and the Amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 at Tropical Inn Hotel,<br />
Johor Bahru. The forum featured three eminent speakers: Steven Thiru (President of the Malaysian Bar), Dato’ Yeo<br />
Yang Poh (Past President of the Malaysian Bar) and Syahredzan Johan (Co-Chairperson National Young Lawyers<br />
Committee). The forum was moderated by R. Jayabalan, Chairman of Johore Bar. The forum kicked off at 5.30 pm<br />
with a welcoming speech by Mathews George and followed by speeches from the three speakers. The forum was<br />
attended by members of public, reporters and members of the Bar.<br />
Gleeful members at the forum<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
32
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
33<br />
Seminar on Technology for Law Firms: Revised To Cover GST Accounting<br />
The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Committee of the Johore Bar organised a seminar that was<br />
conducted by Ng Sheau Feng at two places on two different dates. The first seminar was held at Hotel Pelangi Muar,<br />
Johor on 27 May <strong>2015</strong> and the other took place at Johore Bar Auditorium on 28 May <strong>2015</strong>. The total number of<br />
participants in Muar was 70, and at Johor Bahru had 90 participants.<br />
Seminar on Milestone Cases in Malaysian Land Law<br />
The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Committee of the Johore Bar organised a seminar that was<br />
conducted by Sudharsanan Thillainathan on 11 June <strong>2015</strong> at the Johore Bar Auditorium. A total of 90 participants<br />
were present.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
33
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
34<br />
Reference held at Johor Bahru High Court on 4 February<br />
<strong>2015</strong><br />
We record with deep regret the death of the following<br />
members of the Johore Bar:<br />
(1) ZAINUDDIN BIN EMBONG who passed away on 5<br />
March 2014;<br />
(2) LAU KOH KONG who passed away on 11 August 2014;<br />
(3) LOH SONG CHUAN who passed away on 4 November<br />
2014;<br />
(4) RAVINDRAN A/L G.S PARAMASIVAN who passed away<br />
on 7 December 2014; and<br />
(5) NORISAH BINTI ABU AMAN who passed away on 18<br />
December 2014.<br />
A Reference in their memory was held at the High Court<br />
in Johor Bahru on Wednesday 4 February <strong>2015</strong> at 9.00<br />
a.m.<br />
The proceedings were presided over by the Honourable<br />
Justice Dato’ Mohd Sofian bin Tan Sri Abd Razak and with<br />
his Lordship on the Bench were the learned judges of the<br />
Johor Bahru High Court namely, the Honourable Justice<br />
Tuan Teo Say Eng and Honourable Judicial Commissioner<br />
Dr. Sabirin bin Ja’afar.<br />
Introductory speech by R Jayabalan<br />
Chairman of the Johore Bar Committee<br />
Dengan izin Yang Arif-Yang Arif, saya R. Jayabalan hadir<br />
bagi pihak Jawatankuasa Peguam Negeri Johor. Saya<br />
memohon kebenaran untuk meneruskan dalam Bahasa<br />
Inggeris,<br />
My Lords, we are gathered today to recall the memory of<br />
our professional colleagues – five of them – who are<br />
dearly departed and to pay our respect. They are En<br />
Zainuddin Bin Embong, Mr Lau Koh Kong, Mr Loh Song<br />
Chuan, Mr GSP Ravindran and Mdm Norisah binti Abu<br />
Aman.<br />
My learned friend Mr S. Gunasegaran is appearing for the<br />
Bar Council and Senior Federal Counsel Mr Lee Chee Thim<br />
is appearing for the Attorney-General’s Chambers.<br />
My learned friends En Ismail bin Mohd Tahir, Mr John<br />
Fernandez, Mr C Y Chok, Mr Mathews George and Puan<br />
Rodziah binti Idris are appearing to recall the life and<br />
memory of the respective departed members of the Bar.<br />
I also wish to acknowledge the presence of many<br />
members of the Bar today with the relatives and friends<br />
of our departed members to witness this solemn<br />
proceedings.<br />
Before I proceed further, on behalf of the Johore Bar I<br />
would like to express our appreciation to Your Lordships<br />
for graciously granting our request for this proceedings<br />
and also for presiding the same.<br />
My Lords,<br />
Reference proceedings for a deceased lawyer or judge is<br />
an ancient tradition of the Bar. It is also quite unique.<br />
Whereas we welcome a new member by calling him to<br />
the Bar with the ceremonial long Call, when he is called<br />
upon to meet his Maker, we bid him farewell by holding<br />
reference.<br />
The reference takes place when the High Court convenes<br />
a special sitting in open court in the presence of the<br />
departed member’s colleagues at the Bar, and witnessed<br />
by his loved ones, to recall his life at the Bar and honour<br />
his memory. It is also the Bar’s way of sharing the<br />
family’s loss, grief and bereavement.<br />
There is also another dimension to reference<br />
proceedings. For this, I can do no better than to quote the<br />
words of the eminent counsel Mr Cyrus Das, as he was<br />
then, at the reference held for another eminent counsel<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
34
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
35<br />
the late Dato’ Ronald Khoo before the Federal Court<br />
Judge Tan Sri Dato’ Edgar Joseph Jr on 24.4.1998.<br />
This is what he said “The practice of references for<br />
deceased judges and lawyers served to remind us that we<br />
belong to one body with one objective, namely, the<br />
pursuit of justice through the legal process. In that<br />
collective effort, governed by the unwritten rules of<br />
etiquette and tradition which are just as important as the<br />
written ones, the death of one of us diminishes the whole,<br />
and so we gather to mourn the loss, to pay tribute and<br />
remind ourselves that the journey must be made and the<br />
faith must be kept.”<br />
We are here today for that very purpose. Thank you My<br />
Lords.<br />
R Jayabalan<br />
Chairman of Johore Bar Committee<br />
Speech by S Gunasegaran<br />
Johore Bar Representative,<br />
Representing the President and Members of the<br />
Malaysian Bar<br />
May it please You My Lords,<br />
S. Gunasegaran appearing for the President and members<br />
of the Malaysian Bar at this Reference Ceremony.<br />
I recognise my learned friends R. Jayabalan appearing for<br />
the Johore Bar Committee, Senior Federal Counsel Lee<br />
Chee Thim appearing for the Honourable Attorney<br />
General of Malaysia and my colleagues at the Johore Bar<br />
En. Ismail bin Mohd Tahir, Mr. John Fernandez, Mr. Chok<br />
Chin You, Mr. Mathews George and Puan Rodziah binti<br />
Idris who shall be addressing Your Lordships this morning.<br />
I also wish to recognise the presence of the distinguished<br />
members of the Bar and the families of our departed<br />
members, including Retired Judge of the Court of Appeal,<br />
Datuk Wira Low Hop Bing, the elder brother of the late<br />
Lau Koh Kong.<br />
My Lords, first and foremost on behalf of both the Bar<br />
Council and the Malaysian Bar, I wish to express our<br />
sincere gratitude to Your Lordships for graciously<br />
consenting to and presiding over this morning's<br />
Reference Ceremony, which is a long-established<br />
tradition of the Bar and which is unique to the legal<br />
profession.<br />
My Lords, we are gathered here today to remember and<br />
to pay our respects to our dear departed members of the<br />
Bar who have left us for a better world.<br />
On behalf of the Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar, I<br />
associate myself fully with the sentiments expressed by<br />
the Chairman of the Johore Bar Committee and also the<br />
sentiments that will be expressed by the learned Senior<br />
Federal Counsel and my colleagues at the Johore Bar after<br />
this. Suffice it to say that the demise of the departed<br />
members is a tremendous loss to the profession and that<br />
we are deeply saddened by it.<br />
I must confess that I have had the privilege of knowing<br />
personally only the late Loh Seng Chuan and the late GSP<br />
Ravindran, while the other three members were known<br />
to me only in a professional capacity, which I consider to<br />
be my loss. But whether known to us or not, as members<br />
of the Bar we are tied by a very special bond and the<br />
passing away of any one of us is always a matter of grief<br />
and pain to the rest of us.<br />
The Malaysian Bar is truly proud of our departed<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
35
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
36<br />
colleagues and will always remember their contribution<br />
to the Bar and to the cause of justice that this profession<br />
proudly stands for. We shall be missing them forever.<br />
We pray that their Souls rest in eternal peace.<br />
My Lords, the Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar take this<br />
opportunity to record and to convey our deepest<br />
sympathies and condolences to the families of:<br />
1. the late Zainuddin bin Embong<br />
2. the late Lau Koh Kong<br />
3. the late Loh Seng Chuan<br />
4. the late Ravindran a/l G.S. Paramasivan<br />
5. the late Norisah binti Abu Aman over the passing of<br />
their loved ones.<br />
Rest assured that you are not alone in your pain and<br />
suffering. Your loss and sorrow is as much a loss and<br />
sorrow for us. Shed tears if it is necessary but do not<br />
grieve too much. Just be reminded that Death is the<br />
inevitable consequence of birth. Death is a natural part of<br />
life. It is as natural and common as life. All life leads to<br />
death. And that the journey begins at birth.<br />
William Shakespeare described death as follows:<br />
"Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,<br />
Passing through nature to eternity.<br />
(Hamlet, Act I, scene 2, line 72)<br />
And Euripides said : "Death is a debt we all must pay."<br />
I am painfully aware that whilst words may provide some<br />
comfort in our hour of need, they will not<br />
remove the grief and pain completely,<br />
especially when we have lost someone close<br />
to us, and that Time alone is the ultimate<br />
Healer. In the meantime may you have the<br />
strength and fortitude to face your present<br />
calamity calmly and serenely and to<br />
overcome it swiftly.<br />
Finally My Lords, we take solace in the thought that<br />
though dead and gone, our departed colleagues will<br />
always remain in our memory. As George Eliot said : "Our<br />
dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten<br />
them."<br />
In conclusion, My Lords I respectfully move that the<br />
record of these proceedings be preserved in the archives<br />
of this Honourable Court and that a copy thereof be<br />
extended to each of the bereaved families.<br />
Much obliged.<br />
S. Gunasegaran<br />
Johore Bar Representative<br />
En. Ismail Mohd Tahir paid his tribute to the late<br />
Zainuddin bin Embong<br />
Allahyarham Haji Zainuddin Bin Embong was born in<br />
Johor Bahru on the 25th day of November 1958. At the<br />
time of his demise he was 56 years of age. He obtained<br />
his LLB(Hons) from the University of Malaya in 1983 and<br />
was admitted to the Malaysian Bar on the 28th day of<br />
November 1987. Before starting his career at the Bar he<br />
was an Assistant Parliamentary Draftsman cum Federal<br />
Counsel for almost a year at the Attorney General's<br />
Chambers. He was also an academician when he joined<br />
the Law Faculty of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as<br />
a tutor for a period of two years from 1982 to 1984. He<br />
had a complete and wide range of experience as a<br />
Parliamentary Draftman and also as an academician<br />
before embarking into the world of legal practice as a<br />
member of the distinguished Malaysia Bar. His wide range<br />
exposure has widen his horizon of experience and his<br />
ability of viewing legal matters from a totally different<br />
perspective that might escape the attention of others.<br />
Allahyarham Haji Zainuddin started his legal career at the<br />
Bar as a Legal Assistant at Messrs Ariff & Co and<br />
thereafter at Messrs Khaled Mutang Chan & Lim. Before<br />
his demise he was the Managing Partner of<br />
Messrs Khaled & Zainuddin which specializing<br />
in Corporate & Conveyancing and various<br />
other Commercial transaction. Being the<br />
Senior Partner of the firm he was equally<br />
impressive in Litigation arena especially with<br />
regards to Banking and Land matters.<br />
He had special attachment to the Johor Bar specifically<br />
and the Malaysian Bar generally. He was regarded as a<br />
great reference by the Junior members of the Johor. Bar<br />
and was very keen to lend a helping hand whenever any<br />
assistance was needed of him. To the senior and learned<br />
members of the Johor Bar and the Malaysian Bar as a<br />
whole he was well respected for his humble and kind<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
36
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
37<br />
gesture and was never hesitant in sharing his vast<br />
experience at the Bar for 27 years.<br />
His demise was deeply felt by his wife Zaleha Muslan, two<br />
sons Mohamad Aiman and Mohamad Azim and two<br />
daughters Nur Suraya Hani and Nur Aliah Najiah and also<br />
his immediate family members. He also left behind his 84<br />
year old mother whom he loved so much. His mother<br />
Datin Hajjah Zainun Hj Ab Rahman the widow of the late<br />
Dato' Hj. Embong Bin Yahya our former Deputy<br />
Information Minister while still bereaving the lost of her<br />
beloved son is very grateful to Allah The Almighty that her<br />
beloved son was . taken to rest in peace in the best soil<br />
ever of the Holy City of Makkah and at, the best time ever<br />
during his final Umrah trip.<br />
His wife and children together with the members of his<br />
immediate family would like to take this very opportunity<br />
to thank all members of the Johor Bar especially and the<br />
Malaysian Bar generally and those who had known<br />
Allahyarham Haji Zainuddin Bin Embong for being his<br />
wonderful counterpart and assistance during his lifetime.<br />
Al-fatihah<br />
Ismail Mohd Tahir<br />
Member of Johore Bar<br />
Mr. John Fernandez paid tribute to the late Lau Koh Kong<br />
My Lords, this morning we are gathered here to<br />
remember Mr Lau Koh Kong an esteemed member of the<br />
Johor Bar, who had passed on 11th August 2014.<br />
My Lords, Mr Lau was a very ordinary person, someone<br />
who was unassuming who did ordinary things with<br />
ordinary habits. He was a honest and trustworthy lawyer<br />
to the core.<br />
My Lords in a call to the Bar we state the virtues of the<br />
petitioner but in a reference we speak of the antecedents<br />
and virtues of our deceased brethren as a lawyer.<br />
My Lords, the late Mr Lau was a teacher, teaching in a<br />
primary school in Kulai for several years and at the age of<br />
30 embarked for a law degree at the University of<br />
London. After finishing his law degree in London, he then<br />
enrolled at the Honourable Society of the Lincoln’s lnn,<br />
London where he was admitted as Barrister-at-Law.<br />
My Lords, Mr Lau upon his return set up his practice in<br />
Kulai where he primarily had a conveyancing practise. He<br />
always was a sole proprietor until his son Mr Lau Kei Jin<br />
joined him in 2013 and now continues his practice in the<br />
name and style of Messrs Lau Koh Kong & Associates. The<br />
legacy of the late Mr Lau continues.<br />
The late Mr Lau leaves behind his widow and 4 children to<br />
mourn their loss. Members of the Johore Bar offer their<br />
heartfelt and sincere condolences to the family, friends<br />
and colleagues of the late Mr Lau Koh Kong.<br />
May I pray my lords that a copy of these proceedings be<br />
preserved in the archives of this Court and a copy thereof<br />
be dispatched to the family of the late Mr Lau Koh Kong.<br />
May his soul rest in peace.<br />
Much obliged My Lords.<br />
Mr. Chok Chin You paid tribute to the late Loh Song<br />
Chuan<br />
Loh Song Chuan @ Law Song Chuan was born on<br />
26.12.1951. He hailed from Panchor, Muar. He was the<br />
second son of the late Mr Loh Swee and Mdm Chew Kwi<br />
Lian. Song Chuan has 3 brothers and 2 sisters.<br />
Song Chuan married Elsie Tan Lee Chu in 1987. They have<br />
2 sons, namely Winston Loh Wen Sheng and Wilfred Loh<br />
Woon Hsien. They are now 26 years old and 22 years old<br />
respectively.<br />
Before he became a lawyer, Song Chuan (or more<br />
commonly referred to as “Loh” by his friends) was in the<br />
Singapore Police Force. He joined that police force as rank<br />
and file, and rose to assume the post of an inspector. It<br />
was when he was at the police force that he took up law.<br />
He later on obtained his LLB and CLP. He was admitted as<br />
a member of the Malaysian Bar on 28.8.1985.<br />
After having worked as a legal assistant in Johor Bahru for<br />
a few years, Loh then formed a partnership with Mr<br />
Renganathan, and both of them practiced under the<br />
name and style of Loh and Renga, with effect from 1991.<br />
Loh & Renga has offices in Johor Bahru, Pontian and Batu<br />
Pahat.<br />
One would need to work very hard to take care of 3 law<br />
offices in 3 different parts of the State of Johor. As Loh<br />
was no stranger to hard work and perseverance, he was<br />
able to successfully manage that 3 law offices, and at all<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
37
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
38<br />
times with the assistance of his partners Mr Renganathan<br />
and Mr Derek Low.<br />
In the beginning of his career as a lawyer (which was in<br />
the eighties), one could often see Loh regularly in Court.<br />
As time passes, he spent more and more time in<br />
conveyancing matters and less time in litigation. In the<br />
last few years, his appearance as a counsel in court was<br />
few and far between.<br />
Apart from being his friend, I have also worked together<br />
with Loh on some legal matters in the past.<br />
On 1.11.2014, Loh was taken away from us. He was 63<br />
years old. He succumbed to skin cancer.<br />
Loh was a private and reserved person.<br />
A private person and reserved person is also usually a<br />
stoic person. I have been told by his partners and his work<br />
colleagues that in the last stage of his life, Loh endured<br />
skin cancer with stoicism, and without making any<br />
complaint about that medical condition that was afflicting<br />
him. He did not tell all his friends that he was fighting that<br />
medical condition. I also did not know that he was<br />
suffering from that medical condition at all, until he has<br />
passed away.<br />
In looking back at our friendship of about 30 years, I now<br />
realised that all these years, I have not seen Loh lose his<br />
temper at all or speak ill of anyone. He took things in his<br />
stride, and would not allow himself to be flustered by the<br />
rough and tumble of legal practice or by the vicissitudes<br />
that life tossed his way. He would take each day as it<br />
comes, and was always calm.<br />
It has been my privilege to have been his friend and to<br />
have learnt from him that during the turbulent times in<br />
our life, we could always respond with fortitude and<br />
calmness, and that we need not resort to despair or<br />
bitterness.<br />
In ending, I would like to offer my deepest condolence to<br />
the family members of Loh. I also humbly move that a<br />
record of this proceeding be preserved in the archives of<br />
this Court, and a copy thereof be sent to his widow and<br />
children.<br />
Chok Chin You<br />
Member of Johore Bar<br />
Mr. Mathews George paid tribute to the late GSP<br />
Ravindran<br />
May it please my Lords,<br />
We are gathered here this morning to pay a short tribute<br />
to the memory of our late colleague, Ravindran a/l G.S.<br />
Paramsivan who passéd away on 7.12.2014 aged 57.<br />
The late Ravindran was better known in the legal<br />
fraternity as GSP Ravi, was a trained teacher before he<br />
read law in England. To GSP Ravi, law was his ambition.<br />
GSP Ravi was a Barrister-at-law of the Hon-Society of<br />
Lincoln’s Inn and was admitted to the Malaysian Bar on<br />
23.4.2006. He started practice as a Legal Assistant to the<br />
late Mr Robin Ravindran Mahendran of the firm of M/s<br />
R.R Mahendran & Co. After R.R Mahendran’s demise, GSP<br />
Ravi took over the practice and carried on as a soleproprietor<br />
under the name and style G.S.P Ravindran &<br />
Co. His practice was mainly in the Criminal Courts but he<br />
also had a fair share of civil litigation. GSP Ravi was in his<br />
own way an ardent member of the Johor Bar and served<br />
in the Human Rights Sub-Committee for many years.<br />
GSP Ravi was a close friend of mine. I have known GSP<br />
Ravi since 2006 and there was not a day that went by<br />
without us speaking about football which was a common<br />
passion in our life. GSP Ravi had immense knowledge in<br />
football and was a die hard supporter of Liverpool FC. We<br />
got along well despite I being a die hard fan of<br />
Manchester United FC. Perhaps, it was a case of opposite<br />
attracts.<br />
I recollect with great sadness the night he passed away. I<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
38
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
39<br />
was in Jakarta and GSP Ravi and I were busy exchanging<br />
texts about the Liverpool vs Sunderland match. The last<br />
text I received from GSP Ravi was at 1.19 am on<br />
7.12.2014 regarding an on going Italian football game.<br />
Little did I know that it would be the last time I<br />
communicated with a person i fondly referred to as a<br />
mate.<br />
GSP Ravi was a good lawyer who fought hard and did his<br />
best for his clients. He was an uncompromising lawyer in<br />
some ways who conducted his cases without fear or<br />
favour.<br />
GSP Ravi leaves behind his beloved<br />
spouse Susan, siblings, nephews and<br />
nieces to mourn his passing.<br />
We offer our deepest condolences to<br />
the family of the late GSP Ravi. To his<br />
family I say, that my mate was a good<br />
lawyer and a greater human being.<br />
I will end my speech with an extract<br />
from Liverpool’s signature tune You’ll<br />
Never Walk Alone as it types how GSP<br />
lived his life. It goes like this :-<br />
When you walk through a storm, hold your head high and<br />
don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm,<br />
there’s a golden sky. And the sweet, silver song of a lark.<br />
My Lords, thank you for your patience and I pray for the<br />
usual Order on such a solemn occasion.<br />
Mathews George<br />
Member of Johore Bar<br />
Pn. Rodziah Idris paid tribute to the late Norisah binti Abu<br />
Aman<br />
Dengan izin Yang Arif;<br />
Pertama sekali saya ingin memanjatkan kesyukuran<br />
kerana saya telah diberi penghormatan untuk membuat<br />
rujukan bagi memperingati seorang sahabat yang saya<br />
kenali lebih daripada dua puluh tahun, dan juga rakan<br />
peguam Pn Norisah binti Abu Aman atau lebih dikenali<br />
sebagai Kak Nor bagi kebanyakan rakan-rakan peguam<br />
terutama mereka yang lebih muda.<br />
Saya mula mengenali Kak Nor semasa beliau masih<br />
menjadi penghantar dokumen bagi firma CF Wong & Co<br />
What we have done for ourselves<br />
alone dies with us;<br />
what we have done for others<br />
and the world<br />
remains and is<br />
immortal.<br />
Albert Pike<br />
Kulai, yang mana beliau akan pergi membuat kerja-kerja<br />
pendaftaran di semua pejabat tanah di daerah-daerah di<br />
seluruh Johor. Ini adalah di awal tahun 1990an, pada<br />
masa itu saya baru menjadi peguam, dan kerja-kerja<br />
pendaftaran di luar pejabat dibuat oleh staff lelaki. Apa<br />
yang saya ingat, beliau sangat bersemangat di dalam<br />
melakukan kerja beliau dan telah menasihatkan saya<br />
untuk tinggalkan “ego” dalam poket, dan tebalkan muka<br />
apabila membuat urusan di jabatan-jabatan, yang penting<br />
urusan pelanggan dapat diselesaikan. Satu pesanan yang<br />
saya dapati amat berguna dan saya masih amalkan<br />
sehingga ke hari ini. Saya percaya ramai antara rakan<br />
peguam juga telah mengenali Kak Nor<br />
sebelum beliau diterima sebagai<br />
peguam pada 22 Februari 2013.<br />
Atas galakan daripada mentor dan<br />
rakan sekerja beliau Pn Rani<br />
Shanmugam untuk melanjutkan<br />
pelajaran di bidang Undang-Undang,<br />
Kak Nor telah mengikut jejak Pn Rani<br />
untuk menyambung pelajaran secara<br />
jarak jauh. Berkat kegigihan beliau,<br />
Kak Nor telah berjaya menjadi<br />
graduan di dalam bidang Jurisprudens<br />
dari Universiti Malaya pada tahun 2003, dan lulus CLP<br />
pada tahun 2012. Ini bukan suatu tugas yang mudah<br />
untuk belajar semula selepas bekerja dan berkeluarga.<br />
Saya percaya banyak masa dan wang telah dikorbankan<br />
untuk mencapai cita-cita beliau untuk menjadi peguam.<br />
Selepas menjalani latihan di firma mentornya Pn Rani di<br />
firma Zulkafli, Rani & Co di Kulai, Kak Nor akhirnya<br />
diterima sebagai peguam pada Februari 2013. Ini adalah<br />
satu pencapaian yang amat bermakna bukan sahaja<br />
kepada Kak Nor dan keluarga tetapi kepada rakan-rakan<br />
peguam. Pada masa tersebut beliau telah menjangkau<br />
usia 57 tahun (melebihi usia bersara kakitangan awam<br />
pada masa itu) dan telah menjadi nenek kepada 2 orang<br />
cucu. Beliau telah membuktikan bahawa jika kita<br />
berusaha dan sanggup berkorban, kita boleh mencapai<br />
apa juga impian kita.<br />
Sebelum menjadi peguam, Kak Nor telah bekerja di<br />
beberapa firma guaman di sekitar Kulai, Johor dan banyak<br />
menguruskan kes-kes tanah. Akan tetapi selepas menjadi<br />
peguam, Kak Nor juga telah menunjukkan minat yang<br />
mendalam di dalam kes-kes jenayah dan menjadi peguam<br />
tetap yang mengendalikan kes-kes Yayasan Bantuan<br />
Guaman Kebangsaan (YBGK) terutama di Mahkamah<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
39
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
40<br />
Majistret Kulai dan Pontian.<br />
Malah saya dimaklumkan bahawa pada pagi kejadian<br />
kemalangan yang dihadapi oleh Kak Nor, beliau berada di<br />
dalam perjalanan untuk pulang ke Kulai daripada Mahkamah<br />
Majistret Kota Tinggi setelah menyelesaikan kes-kes YBGK di<br />
sana. Ini bukanlah suatu yang biasa bagi kebanyakan kita<br />
kerana pada masa tersebut beliau telah berumur 59 tahun,<br />
dan bagi kebanyakan peguam wanita pada peringkat<br />
tersebut, kebanyakan kita memilih untuk membuat kes-kes<br />
tempatan sahaja supaya tidak perlu berkejar ke Mahkamah<br />
di luar daerah. Tetapi itulah Kak Nor yang suka dengan<br />
cabaran dan selalu ingin mencuba sesuatu yang baru.<br />
Walaupun Kak Nor hanya sempat menjadi rakan guaman<br />
kepada kita untuk tempoh yang agak singkat iaitu tidak<br />
sampai 2 tahun, beliau telah memberi inspirasi terutama<br />
kepada peguam-peguam muda untuk terus berusaha<br />
membaiki diri, dan bagi rakan-rakan sebaya untuk terus<br />
menjadi peguam yang aktif kerana sebagai peguam kita<br />
dapat banyak membantu orang lain.<br />
Saya berpeluang bertanya dengan anak perempuan beliau<br />
mengapa Kak Nor begitu bersemangat ingin menjadi<br />
peguam dan saya diberitahu bahawa ia merupakan hajat<br />
bapa beliau yang ingin Kak Nor menjadi peguam tetapi<br />
disebabkan kekangan hidup selepas tamat persekolahan, cita<br />
-cita tersebut terpaksa ditangguhkan. Ini juga adalah sebab<br />
beliau hanya bekerja di pejabat peguam di sepanjang alam<br />
pekerjaan beliau dan beliau telah meminta anak beliau Cik<br />
Nurul Afiah untuk memilih bidang Undang-Undang walaupun<br />
ingin menjadi seorang guru. Sekarang Cik Nurul telah<br />
menjadi peguam dan mengambilalih firma ibunya.<br />
Bagi mereka yang rapat dengan Allahyarhamah Kak Nor<br />
terutama mereka yang berurusan di Mahkamah Majistret<br />
Kulai, pastinya kita akan berasa kehilangan kerana beliau<br />
sering ceria dan tidak lokek untuk berkongsi pengalaman<br />
bersama rakan-rakan. Senyuman dan keceriaan beliau akan<br />
menjadi kenangan dan semangat kepada kami rakan-rakan<br />
beliau.<br />
Beliau juga adalah seorang isteri dan ibu yang sangat prihatin<br />
kepada kebajikan keluarga beliau. Saya diberitahu beliau<br />
telah membuka firma beliau di rumah iaitu Tetuan Norisah &<br />
Co kerana beliau dapat membahagikan masa untuk menjaga<br />
dan menemankan suami beliau yang telah bersara semasa<br />
beliau berada di “pejabat”. Beliau ada memberitahu kami<br />
rakan-rakannya bahawa beliau ingin menjalankan amalan<br />
dengan anak perempuan kesayangan beliau yang juga<br />
seorang peguam setelah kedudukan firma beliau lebih stabil.<br />
Tetapi di dalam kehidupan ini manusia hanya merancang,<br />
Allah jua yang menentukan<br />
Kepada Kak Nor, kami doakan semoga rohnya dicucuri<br />
rahmat Perkenalan dan kenangan bersama kami jadikan<br />
azimat.<br />
Kak Nor pastinya akan sentiasa diingati oleh ahli keluarga<br />
tersayang iaitu suami En Ismail bin Osman, dua anak lelaki<br />
iaitu Khairul Faizal dan En Shahrul dan Cik Nurul Afiah yang<br />
mengambilalih perniagaan ibu beliau serta dua orang cucu<br />
beliau. Di sebalik itu, mereka adalah sangat beruntung<br />
kerana dianugerahkan seorang isteri, ibu dan nenek yang<br />
sentiasa aktif dan ceria di dalam hidup mereka.<br />
Akhir sekali, saya memohon supaya prosiding ini disimpan di<br />
dalam arkib Mahkamah Tinggi dan satu salinan diserahkan<br />
kepada waris Allahyarhamah.<br />
Terima kasih.<br />
Rodziah Idris<br />
Member of Johore Bar<br />
Senior Federal Counsel Mr. Lee Chee Thim in his tribute to<br />
the departed members<br />
Dengan Izin,<br />
Yang Arif —Yang Arif, En. R.Jayabalan, Pengerusi<br />
Jawatankuasa Peguam Negeri Johor S.Gunasegaran, wakil<br />
Majlis Peguam Malaysia, wakil yang memperingati mendiang<br />
masing-masing, Datuk--Datuk, Datuk Wira Low Hop Bing,<br />
Tuan-Tuan /Puan-Puan yang dihormati sekalian.<br />
Pada hari ini, kita sama-sama berkumpul untuk menghormati<br />
dan memperingati mendiang ahli-ahli Majlis Peguam<br />
Malaysia yang telah meninggalkan kita buat selama-lamanya.<br />
Sehubungan itu, saya hadir prosiding pagi ini bagi pihak YBhg<br />
Tan. Sri Peguam Negara Malaysia. Saya diwakilkan untuk<br />
menyampaikan rasa dukacita beliau atas ketidakhadiran<br />
beliau pada istiadat hari ini atas desakan tugas rasmi. Saya<br />
juga hadir bagi pihak kesemua pegawai Perkhidmatan<br />
Kehakiman dan Perundangan bagi melahirkan perasaan<br />
sedih kami di atas pemergian mendiang ahli-ahli Majlis<br />
Peguam Malaysia ini serta menyampaikan ucapan salam<br />
takziah kami kepada keluarga mereka.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
40
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
41<br />
Yang Arif-Yang Arif, dengan rendah diri saya memohon<br />
izin Yang Arif untuk meneruskan ucapan saya dalam<br />
Bahasa Inggeris.<br />
Yang Arif-Yang Arif, Today's proceedings should not be<br />
treated as a solemn and melancholic occasion. Instead it<br />
should be an opportunity for us to commemorate and<br />
honour the lives and memories of these 5 members.<br />
We thank God for their presence in our lives and we ask<br />
for God's blessing for their departed souls and the<br />
families they left behind.<br />
Yang Arif-Yang Arif, On behalf of the Honourable Attorney<br />
General and the officers of the Judicial and Legal Service, I<br />
extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and<br />
friends of the members we honour today. I would also<br />
like to associate myself wholeheartedly with the<br />
sentiments and tributes expressed by my learned friends<br />
throughout today's proceedings.<br />
Yang Arif-Yang Arif, Akhirkata, saya dengan rendah diri<br />
setuju dengan usul supaya Rekod Prosiding hari ini<br />
disimpan di Arkib Mahkamah yang Mulia ini dan sesalinan<br />
diserahkan kepada setiap keluarga mendiang ahli yang<br />
kita kenang dan ingati hari ini.<br />
Terima kasih.<br />
Lee Chee Thim<br />
Senior Federal Counsel<br />
Closing Speech by R Jayabalan<br />
Chairman of Johore Bar Committee<br />
May it please you My Lords, On behalf of the Johore Bar, I<br />
associate myself fully with the feelings and sentiments<br />
expressed by my learned friends. I just wish to add a few<br />
words on behalf of the Johore Bar.<br />
These five members will live long in our memory. Their<br />
comradeship and contribution to the Bar will be cherished<br />
and will be surely missed.<br />
The late Zainuddin, Lau Koh Kong and Loh Song Chuan<br />
were all very senior members, the wealth of their<br />
experience and knowledge at the Bar will be<br />
irreplaceable.<br />
The late GSP Ravindran, who was a good friend of mine -<br />
we share the same passion for our club Liverpool - was a<br />
regular player for the Bar at our Bar-Bench Games. His<br />
enthusiasm and sportsmanship will be sorely missed by<br />
the Johore Bar. We are a man short now.<br />
As for the late Norisah, she spent most of her time at her<br />
fledgling law practice handling Legal Aid or YBGK cases.<br />
She almost always obliged whenever she was called upon<br />
to appear for a Legal Aid client at the smaller towns<br />
outside the city – distance was never a problem for her,<br />
even at her age. In that sense it is tragic that her time also<br />
came when she was rushing from one court to another.<br />
Her loss will be felt at the Bar and the National Legal Aid<br />
Foundation particularly will be hard pressed to find an<br />
equal replacement.<br />
The Johore Bar is indeed proud to acknowledge these five<br />
members as one of our own. We extend our deepest<br />
condolences to their family for their loss. May their souls<br />
rest in peace.<br />
The Johore Bar supports the motion that the record of<br />
this proceeding to be kept and preserved in the archives<br />
of this honourable court, and that a copy thereof be<br />
extended to the bereaved families.<br />
Much obliged, My Lords.<br />
R Jayabalan<br />
Chairman of Johore Bar Committee<br />
Closing Speech by Honourable Justice Dato’ Mohd Sofian<br />
bin Tan Sri Abd Razak<br />
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim;<br />
Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarokatuh dan<br />
Salam Sejahtera<br />
The Honourable Justice Teo Say Eng, Judge of the High of<br />
Malaya, Johor Bahru and Justice Dr. Sabirin bin Ja’afar,<br />
Judicial Commissioner of High of Malaya, Johor Baharu.<br />
The Honourable Mr. Lee Chee Chuan, Senior Federal<br />
Counsel representing the Hon Attorney General, En.<br />
Ismail bin Tahir on behalf of Allahyarham En. Zainuddin<br />
bin Embong, Mr. John Fernandez on behalf of the late Mr.<br />
Lau Koh Kong, Mr. Chok Chin You on behalf of the late<br />
Mr.Loh SongChuan, Mr. Mathews George on behalf of the<br />
late Mr. Ravindran a/l G.S Paramasivam and Puan<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
41
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
42<br />
Rodziah binti Idris on behalf of Allahyarhamah Puan<br />
Norisah binti Abu Aman, deceased members of the Bar<br />
and Mr.S. Gunasegaran on behalf of the Bar Council, Mr.<br />
R. Jayabalan on behalf of members of the Johor Bar,<br />
Members of the Judicial and Legal Services, Members of<br />
the Bar, distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen.<br />
This is yet another occasion where we have gathered here<br />
this morningon this sad occasion to pay tribute to the<br />
memory and last respect to Allahyarham En. Zainuddin bin<br />
Embong, the late Mr. Lau Koh Kong, the late Loh Song<br />
Chuan, the late Mr. Ravindran a/l G.S Paramasivam and<br />
Allahyarhamah Puan Norisah binti Abu Aman, deceased<br />
members of the Bar and their respective eulogies read.<br />
Death is a sorrowful occasion and our memories of the<br />
dead ones are always so mingled with sadness as to make<br />
us regard the occasion with the utmost solemnity. Death<br />
awaits for no one, it struck at the preordained time and<br />
place.<br />
To the deceased members, it became very clear that one<br />
distinctive feature which is present in all of them that they<br />
were distinguished and dedicated members of the Bar<br />
steeped in the finest traditions of the professions<br />
discharging their noble duties as an advocate and solicitor<br />
in the true spirit of the Bar ‘without fear or favour’<br />
Although it was not my privilege to have known them<br />
personally during my tenure as an office bearer of the Bar<br />
Council from 1997 to 2003 and later as a Judge of the High<br />
Court, Malaya, I wish to associate myself with the very<br />
eloquent and all the sincere tributes that have been made<br />
to them and as practicing members of the Bar all of them<br />
enjoy the respect and affection with which they were<br />
regarded by all those who had the privilege of coming in<br />
contact with them.<br />
Before we adjourned, permit me to say a few words about<br />
the departed members of the Bar although I personally<br />
have not had the privilege of knowing all the departed<br />
members of the Bar.<br />
Allahyarham En. Zainuddin bin Embong untimely demised<br />
on the 5th March 2014 and the age of 57 years in the Holy<br />
Land of Mecca is a loss to the family, the Bench and the<br />
Bar. However as a Muslim, to be called upon to meet your<br />
maker in the Holy Land is what most Muslim hope to be.<br />
To his wife, children and family I urge upon them to be<br />
patient at all times since ‘Every Soul Shall Have a Taste of<br />
Death and Allah has also commanded ‘ To God We Belong,<br />
and to Him Is Our Return.’ Inna –LillahiwainnaIlaihirajiun<br />
and to the Muslim let’s recite the Surah Al-Fatihah for<br />
Allahyarham. It is without doubt that Allahyarham En<br />
Zainuddin was always humble, cheerful, ambitious and<br />
industrious. These attributes had indeed helped him to<br />
make him a lawyer. He was a man of high responsibility as<br />
a senior member of the Bar ready to render any assistance<br />
whenever it was required. He was well respected for his<br />
humble and kind gesture and was never hesitant in<br />
sharing his vast experience at the Bar for 27 years. Great<br />
men are judged by their little deeds, so the saying goes.<br />
His sudden demised is sadly missed by his wife, children,<br />
mother and members of Bar and the Bench. May his soul<br />
be placed amongst the ‘ambia and suhadah’.<br />
The late Mr. Lau Koh Kong untimely demised on 11th<br />
August 2014 is also a loss to his family, the Bench and the<br />
Bar. The deceased was a senior member of the Bar, a<br />
Barrister at- law of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn<br />
and was admitted and enrolled as Advocate and Solicitor<br />
of the High Court of Malaya on 8th June 1984. He<br />
practiced under the name and style of Messrs Lau Koh<br />
Kong & Associate in Kulai. It has been brought to my<br />
attention that the late Mr. Lau Koh Kong comes from an<br />
illustrious family of lawyers It is an honour and privilege to<br />
know that retired Court of Appeal Judge, Datuk Wira Lau<br />
Hop Beng, who is present this morning is a brother of the<br />
deceased. I am also informed two of the children of the<br />
deceased are also lawyers and practice in the deceased’s<br />
firm. I myself did not have the pleasure of knowing the<br />
deceased personally, but the voice of good report has<br />
travelled through these Courts about him and I appreciate<br />
that very many of you here this morning feel that you<br />
have lost a personal friend and it is difficult to avoid a<br />
feeling of personal loss as we have rarely experienced<br />
before. Our hearts go out to the family in their great<br />
bereavement and if it help them to sustain their sorrow<br />
with greater fortitude I would like them to know that they<br />
do not grieve alone. His name will be gratefully<br />
remembered by lawyers and those connected with the<br />
legal profession. He has passed on. To his family he now<br />
belongs to history. May the late Mr. Lau Koh Kong rest in<br />
peace.<br />
The late Mr. Loh Song Chuan @ Law Song Chuan a senior<br />
member of the Johor Bar died peacefully on 1st November<br />
2014. Joined the Singapore Police Force and resigned from<br />
the Force with the rank of an Inspector to pursue his life-<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
42
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
43<br />
long ambition to become a lawyer and had to struggle<br />
hard. Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s Law Degree and<br />
CLP, the late Mr. Loh Song Chuan practice the name and<br />
style of Messrs Loh & Rengga and had offices in Johor<br />
Bahru, Pontain and Batu Pahat. The deceased was a<br />
humble but a quiet and unassuming person socially and<br />
professionally. His untimely death is a great loss to his<br />
family, the Bench and the Bar. On behalf of the judiciary,<br />
my colleagues and I would extend our most heartfelt<br />
condolences to the family of the late Mr. Loh Song<br />
Chuan. May his soul rest in peace.<br />
The late Mr. Ravindran a/l Paramasivam better known as<br />
‘GSP Ravi’ passed away peacefully on 7th December 2014<br />
at the age of 57 years. Like the late Mr. Loh Song Chuan,<br />
the late Mr. GSP Ravin also quit the teaching profession<br />
to pursue his life –long ambition to be a lawyer and read<br />
law at Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and was<br />
admitted to the Malaysian Bar on 23rd April 2006 where<br />
he joined the firm of Messrs R.R Mahendran & Co and<br />
took over the practice of the firm after the demised of<br />
the late Mr. R.R Mahendran and practiced as a soleproprietor<br />
under the name and style of Messrs G.S.P<br />
Ravindran & Co. His practice was mainly in the criminal<br />
courts. The deceased was also an ardent member of the<br />
Bar and will render any assistance in any Bar’s activity.<br />
He was a popular figure among the members of the<br />
Johor Bar. It would be no exaggeration to say that all who<br />
came in contact with him have occasion to remember<br />
him either for some favour done or some word of<br />
kindness and encouragement. His sudden demised is a<br />
great loss to the family, Bench and Bar. May I and my<br />
colleagues on behalf of the judiciary extend our heartfelt<br />
sympathies and condolences to the family members and<br />
may his soul rest in peace.<br />
Allahyarhamah Norisah binti Abu Aman untimely death<br />
on 18th December 2014 is a great loss to her family, the<br />
Bench and the Bar. The deceased was fondly known<br />
among her colleagues as ‘Kak Nor’ as shining example of<br />
a person who will never give up until she had achieved<br />
her life long ambition to become a lawyer. Though busy<br />
with her other work commitment, Allahyarhamah<br />
struggled hard to achieve her ambition by enrolling<br />
herself in long distance learning at the University of<br />
Malaya and through her dedication, hard working and<br />
perseverance, she graduated in LLB (Jurisprudence) in<br />
2003 and passed her CLP in 2012. It took her about<br />
almost 8 years to achieve her life- long ambition to<br />
become a lawyer. I would like to commend her gallant<br />
effort in striving hard to achieve what she treasured most<br />
in life, the pursuit of her deep devotion to the study of<br />
law and wanting to do her part in the administration of<br />
justice. Unfortunately her untimely demised has<br />
prevented her to materialize her dream. I am glad to<br />
know the her daughter will soldier on to relive the fond<br />
memories of her mother and dedicated her practice to<br />
her late mother. We have to accept this untimely<br />
demised with humility and full faith in God more so when<br />
He has commanded ‘Nor Can a Soul Die Except by God’s<br />
leave, the Term Being Fixed as By Writing.’ May I and my<br />
colleagues on behalf of the judiciary extend our heartfelt<br />
condolences to the family of Allahyarhamah Pn. Norisah<br />
binti Abu Aman recite the surah Al-Fatihah for her. Inna-<br />
LillahiwainnaIllahirajiun.<br />
May I in conclusion say that although we have lost them<br />
but their memories will always be cherished by us.<br />
In conclusion, I once again wish to extend my heartfelt<br />
condolences and deepest sympathies on behalf of the<br />
judiciary, to the families and friends of the deceased in<br />
their sorrow. I would therefore make an order that a<br />
copy of the proceedings be kept in the archives of this<br />
Court and a copy thereof be forwarded to all the families<br />
to whom we all have extended our heartfelt<br />
condolences.<br />
Thank you for your presence and Court is adjourned.<br />
Wabillahi Taufiq Walhidayah Wassalammualaikum<br />
Warahmatullahi Wabarokatuh.<br />
Dato’ Mohd Sofian bin Tan Sri Abd Razak<br />
Judge<br />
High Court of Malaya, Johor Bahru<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
43
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
44<br />
High-Tea to Welcome<br />
YA Tuan Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali<br />
As Judicial Commissioner of the High Court in Johor Bahru<br />
The Social Committee of the Johore Bar organised a High Tea at Grand BlueWave Hotel, Johor Bahru on 16 June <strong>2015</strong>, to<br />
welcome YA Tuan Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali, who has been posted as Judicial Commissioner in Johor Bahru on 20<br />
Apr <strong>2015</strong>. The event was attended by 50 members of the Johore Bar and four Judges and Judicial Commissioners of the<br />
High Court in Johor Bahru, Director of Johor Courts and Chairman of the Industrial Court, Johor Bahru.<br />
SPEECH BY MR R JAYABALAN<br />
It is the tradition of the Johore Bar to officially receive the<br />
new judge with a welcoming hi-tea. The purpose is to<br />
introduce the judge to our members and to give an<br />
opportunity for the judge to get to know us in a less formal<br />
environment.<br />
Let me now give a brief introduction of our new JC :<br />
His formal education commenced at Sekolah Sultan Sulaiman<br />
1, Kuala Terengganu in 1974 and then Sekolah Sri Petaling,<br />
Selangor before moving on to St. Michael's Institution, Ipoh<br />
and Malay College, Kuala Kangsar in 1984.<br />
Fellow members of the Bar, good evening. We are gathered<br />
today to welcome our guest of honour, the new Judicial<br />
Commissioner YA Tuan Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali who<br />
had recently assumed office at the High Court at Johor<br />
Bahru. Yang Arif is present here with his charming spouse<br />
Puan Norhaidawati binti Mohamad Tahir.<br />
I would also like to extend a warm welcome to our High<br />
Court Judges Hakim Utama Yang Arif Dato' Mohd Sofian bin<br />
Tan Sri Abd Razak, Yang Arif Tuan Teo Say Eng and Judicial<br />
Commissioners Yang Arif Dato' Mat Zara'ai Bin Alias and YA<br />
Dr Sabirin Ja'afar. Thank you for joining us in welcoming your<br />
brother judge.<br />
Greetings as well to Puan Rohani Binti Ismail, Sessions Judge<br />
and Pengarah Mahkamah Johor and Tuan Roslan bin Mat<br />
Nor, the Chairman of the Industrial Court Johor Bahru.<br />
Yang Arif Tuan Mohd Nazlan was appointed as Judicial<br />
Commissioner on 10.4.<strong>2015</strong> and commenced duty at Johor<br />
Bahru on 20.4.<strong>2015</strong>. The Johore Bar Committee paid a<br />
courtesy call on Yang Arif on 13.5.<strong>2015</strong> and introduced<br />
ourself.<br />
YA then did his A-levels at the Warwick School, England<br />
before enrolling into the prestigious Oxford University to<br />
pursue Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence between 1987--<br />
1990.<br />
Upon completion, he joined the Lincoln's Inn to obtain his<br />
Barrister at Law in 1991. YA commenced chambering in 1991<br />
at Messrs Shook Lin & Bok and was briefly in practice -<br />
before leaving to do his Master of Arts at Oxford again in<br />
1995.<br />
Upon his return and between 1994 — 1997 YA was attached<br />
to the Securities Commission under the Takeovers &<br />
Mergers Unit in various positions; starting from Executive<br />
Officer then rising to Senior Executive Officer and Assistant<br />
Manager.<br />
Between 1997 —1998 YA was appointed as the Manager &<br />
Special Assistant to Executive Chairman & Secretary to the<br />
Commission of the Securities Commission.<br />
Then between 1998 — 2000 YA took up the position of<br />
General Manager & Head, Enforcement Division, Securities<br />
Commission.<br />
In the year 2000 YA came back to practice with Zaid Ibrahim<br />
& Co. in Kuala Lumpur. He was made a partner there and<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
44
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
45<br />
took the position Head of Equity Capital Markets.<br />
YA left practice in 2005 and joined Malayan Banking<br />
Berhad as its Company Secretary & Head of Corporate<br />
Services. In 2006 he became the Group General Counsel &<br />
Company Secretary and also Group Head, Corporate &<br />
Legal Services for Malayan Banking Berhad. YA served<br />
Malayan Banking in that capacity until <strong>2015</strong> when he was<br />
appointed as Judicial Commissioner by the YDPA on<br />
10.4.<strong>2015</strong><br />
One can understand that being appointed as a judge<br />
cannot be easy. It comes with heavy burden of<br />
expectation, trust and responsibility. It requires a thirst for<br />
knowledge and diligence, not only in hearing litigants and<br />
deciding cases, but also in the area of case management.<br />
Exercising judicial powers, judicial temperament and<br />
ensuring justice to litigants before the Courts is a great<br />
responsibility. Your decision reaches out of the confines of<br />
your courtroom and resonates within the society. The<br />
society places a lot of trust on the courts and looks up to<br />
the courts to resolve their misery and grievances. Take<br />
away the courts, and the society has no place left to seek<br />
justice.<br />
Mr Justice Sardar Muhammad lqbal, the Chief Justice from<br />
Lahore High Court in his article "The Role of Lawyers and<br />
Judges' published in (1977) 1 MU viii wrote :<br />
" A sine qua non for law and order in a society is that the<br />
public should have a complete confidence in the Law Courts<br />
of the country because when that is shaken, it becomes<br />
doubtful that law and order could be maintained. The<br />
failure of the system of law and order jeopardizes the entire<br />
democratic system. The common man looks to the Law<br />
Courts for the vindication of his basic rights and when he<br />
loses faith in them, he is likely to resort to the law of the<br />
jungle. By instilling into people distrust in the machinery of<br />
justice, society returns to a state of affairs where private<br />
feuds and vendettas are the law of the land, the outcome<br />
of which is disorder and anarchy. Take away the faith in the<br />
Courts and the last bastion is down. If our independences<br />
has to be maintained, justice has to prevail in the land. If<br />
the country is to be saved from despair, its confidence in<br />
the Judges should be strengthened. Failure there, is bound<br />
to result in chaos."<br />
This was written in 1977 and I think it remains very<br />
relevant today especially in the wake of legislations that<br />
are chipping away fundamental liberties, judicial powers<br />
and restricting judicial discretion; the latest of which is the<br />
Prevention of Terrorism Act <strong>2015</strong> (POTA) and the<br />
amendments to the Sedition Act 1948.<br />
It must have been a big change for Yang Arif — coming<br />
from corporate settings and stepping into the judicial<br />
settings — and having to deal with lawyers on a daily basis<br />
now.<br />
This change must be a challenge as well for Yang Arif and<br />
your family. More so when upon appointment Yang Arif<br />
was sent straight down to Johor Bahru from your familiar<br />
settings of Kuala Lumpur.<br />
I hope now that Yang Arif has been here for the last 1<br />
month or so, we have made a good first impression and<br />
Yang Arif will grow to like Johor Bahru and Johore lawyers<br />
in the process.<br />
Let me say a few words about the Johore Bar.<br />
The Johore Bar Committee is a creature of statute. It comes<br />
into existence under s 68-70 of the Legal Profession Act<br />
1976. Generally the Committee manages the affairs of the<br />
State Bar and its members. The Johore Bar, with 1,828<br />
lawyers is now the 3rd largest state Bar in the country.<br />
We strongly believe in fostering a close rapport with the<br />
Bench that is based upon mutual understanding and<br />
respect. This is necessary to establish a good working<br />
relationship between the Bar and the Bench so that both<br />
sides are able to carry out their respective role<br />
meaningfully in the administration of justice. And hence<br />
the various traditions that we have here at the Johore Bar<br />
when it comes to Bar-Bench relationship — some of which<br />
Yang Arif might have heard already.<br />
It is unavoidable that from time to time there can be issue<br />
in the workings of the courts and administration of justice.<br />
The good relationship has helped us to resolve our<br />
problems in an amicable manner and without the necessity<br />
of taking it further up in the hierarchy. Of course<br />
sometimes some problems cannot be resolved the way<br />
that we want but the relationship has helped us to at least<br />
pleasantly discuss the unpleasant.<br />
For this, I must record my appreciation to all the judges<br />
and judicial commissioners for being receptive to the Bar's<br />
concerns. I must particularly thank the Senior Judge Yang<br />
Arif Dato' Sofian for being pro-active and readiness to<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
45
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
46<br />
listen to our concerns.<br />
On behalf of the Johore Bar, I would like to congratulate<br />
you on your appointment as the Judicial Commissioner<br />
and welcome you to Johor Bahru. We look forward to<br />
establish the same cordial working relationship with you. I<br />
pledge the Johore Bar's full support and co-operation to<br />
Yang Arif in carrying out your judicial responsibility.<br />
We wish for Yang Arif to enjoy a long and distinguished<br />
career on the Bench. We also hope for your family and you<br />
to have a pleasant stay in Johor Bahru.<br />
I along with the rest of us look forward to hearing from<br />
you shortly. Finally thank you Ms Gunn for organizing this<br />
wonderful hi-tea.<br />
R. JAYABALAN<br />
Speech by YA Tuan Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali,<br />
Judicial Commissioner of the Johor Bahru High Court<br />
Hakim Utama YA Dato Mohd Sofian bin Tan Sri Abd Razak,<br />
YA Tuan Teo Say Eng, YA Dato Mat Zara’ai Alias and YA Dr<br />
Sabirin Jaafar, Mr. R Jayabalan, the Honourable Chairman<br />
of the Johore Bar, Committee members distinguished<br />
guests and members of the Johore Bar.<br />
Assalamualaikum and good evening.<br />
First and foremost I would like to say how very grateful I<br />
am to the Johore Bar Committee for according me this<br />
privilege of having a special welcoming high tea event<br />
organized in my honor.<br />
I wish to also thank the Chairman of the Johore Bar<br />
Committee and members of the Committee for meeting<br />
me last month. That meeting provided me with an<br />
excellent introduction to the Johore Bar, which I surmise<br />
must be one of the more active State Bars in the country.<br />
Reading the previous publications of the Bulletin of<br />
the Johore Bar, I am sure that the many activities<br />
organized by the Committee, both relating to legal practice<br />
as well as educational, social and recreational have been<br />
found most beneficial in not only strengthening the<br />
Bar but also in promoting an effective relationship with the<br />
Bench. Indeed, I see not an insignificant part of the<br />
December 2014 Bulletin being dedicated to articles not<br />
only welcoming new judges or judicial commissioners, but<br />
also on their promotions, elevations, and transfers.<br />
The year 2014 must therefore have been a very busy year<br />
for the Johore Bar Committee in its extra-judicial<br />
engagement with the Judges of the High Courts in JB.<br />
As the third largest State Bar in the country, the Johor<br />
Bar's steadfast adherence to its long tradition of honoring<br />
the judiciary on such occasions in my view is an important<br />
example that reflects the common belief held by those<br />
who care for the betterment of the nation of the need for<br />
a relationship of mutual trust, understanding and respect<br />
between Bar and Bench.<br />
As we all know, although it is clear that the roles of judges<br />
and lawyers are far from identical, we certainly have<br />
many common features, and one overriding single<br />
common function in the administration of justice. The<br />
performance of the duties involved in each role is made<br />
easier the more satisfactorily the duties of the other role<br />
are performed. To that ideal each side of the bar table<br />
should always aspire . The late Tun Suffian Hashim had<br />
made it very clear that the independence of the Bench and<br />
the independence of the Bar are the twin pillars of the<br />
Rule of Law. I am sure many would agree that it is indeed<br />
tough to envisage a society which could be<br />
characterized as being governed by The Rule of Law unless<br />
it has an independent judiciary. It is probably almost<br />
equally difficult to find one which could be so<br />
characterized unless it has an independent legal<br />
profession.<br />
Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
I am sure many, if not all of you were<br />
previously wondering about my background<br />
or were asking an even more basic question as to who I<br />
was or if anyone had even heard of my name before, when<br />
it appeared in the letter on the transfer order issued by<br />
YAA Chief Judge of Malaya. I hope the kind introduction<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
46
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
47<br />
made by the Chairman of the Johor Bar a short while<br />
ago, has addressed some of the questions you may have.<br />
Indeed I was probably even less familiar to the Bench that I<br />
should probably be to the Bar since I used to be a member<br />
of the Bar during different periods earlier in my working<br />
career. In fact, a standard question posed to me by a<br />
number of judges at the Annual Judges Conference April<br />
this year was whether I was from the Bar, or from the<br />
Bench's subordinate courts. Each time I replied neither Bar<br />
nor Bench, and stating instead I am from the Bank, of<br />
course in reference to Maybank being the largest bank in<br />
the country.<br />
My career background is probably non conventional when<br />
compared to that of most in the judiciary but I have found<br />
and relished the endless challenge in the complexities of<br />
the law in my experience as a legal practitioner, securities<br />
regulator and general counsel of a corporation, all of<br />
which involved the practice and administration of the law. I<br />
certainly now consider it a profound privilege and both an<br />
onerous as well as an enormous responsibility for me to<br />
play a role in applying the law to the questions and disputes<br />
we witness today.<br />
In the process, I strive not to fail to appreciate the real<br />
world consequences of judicial decisions on individuals,<br />
businesses and government. Indeed at my judicial oath<br />
taking ceremony with four other new<br />
Judicial Commissioners in April, we were reminded by YAA<br />
the RH CJ of Malaysia that judges must always remember<br />
the oath we declared on our appointment which of course<br />
includes to defend the Constitution. In fact judges were<br />
advised to place a copy of the oath on our office tables so<br />
that we are constantly reminded of the same.<br />
Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
In my close to 2 months here in JB, in hearing cases at Civil<br />
Court No 3, I have had the privilege of witnessing and<br />
experiencing nothing but a display of fine<br />
advocacy, professionalism and courtesy by lawyers who<br />
have appeared before me so far which I’m sure is not<br />
entirely due to CRT. The operative words are "so far", and I<br />
am not sure if this suggests that some JB lawyers are still<br />
somehow on long vacation or that the KL lawyers have not<br />
yet this year deemed the fees worthy of their appearance in<br />
JB. In any event I am truly hopeful that my brother judges<br />
and I in JB continue to enjoy an effective support from, and<br />
a cordial relationship with, the Bar in the common pursuit<br />
of the administration of justice.<br />
Although my posting to JB represents the first time that<br />
I have to work outside of Kuala Lumpur since I started<br />
working in 1991, my family and I look forward to enjoying<br />
our stay in this beautiful and vibrant city of JB. Never once<br />
did it cross our minds that we should drive along the<br />
causeway to visit neighboring Singapore. Of course it does<br />
not quite help that we have no idea how long my tenure in<br />
JB will be but we certainly aspire that whilst we are here we<br />
should find time to explore JB and its surroundings, which<br />
are famed for its many attractions and places of interest.<br />
Since "finding time" are the operative words, so far we have<br />
focused our visits primarily on JB City Square. Before my<br />
appointment we had much earlier managed to find time to<br />
visit JPO a few times.<br />
As this is my first time outside KL, I initially accepted the<br />
news of my posting with a certain sense of anxiety.<br />
However I must say that within days I was able to<br />
make myself quite comfortably at home here in JB and this<br />
smooth transition was made possible by the support given<br />
to my family and I by brother judges, the Bar and court<br />
staff.<br />
Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
Before I end this short thank you speech, I wish again to<br />
thank the Johore Bar Committee for having this event, and<br />
its members for taking the trouble to attend this event, and<br />
brother judges who turned up in full force, for your<br />
presence. I look forward to working with all of you towards<br />
strengthening the relationship between Bar and Bench and<br />
enhancing further the quality of the administration of<br />
justices in this State and in the country. As the Holy month<br />
of Ramadan is fast approaching, I wish to take this<br />
opportunity to wish every Muslim in<br />
attendance, "Selamat Berpuasa", and at the same time<br />
gently remind everyone that during Ramadhan, the Courts<br />
will start hearing cases at 8.30 a.m.<br />
Thank you.<br />
Tuan Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali<br />
Pesuruhjaya Kehakiman<br />
Mahkamah Tinggi<br />
Johor Bahru<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
47
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
48<br />
Current Issues relating to RPGT and Stamp Duty<br />
[Answers given by the LDHN on 20-8-2014]<br />
On 20 August 2014, the Johore Bar Committee had a fruitful<br />
discussion with the Inland Revenue Board *LHDN – Lembaga<br />
Hasil Dalam Negeri+. A circular was issued to that effect. Various<br />
issues relating to the Real Property Gains Tax *RPGT+ and the<br />
Stamp Duty were discussed. Some doubts have been cleared.<br />
Conveyancing practitioners would do well to take note of this.<br />
The RPGT officer has given written answers in response to the<br />
various queries raised by the JBC.<br />
This article highlights the salient points discussed at the<br />
meeting. But since the meeting was held last year *2014+, it has<br />
been updated in this article in the light of amendments made<br />
pursuant to the <strong>2015</strong> Budget Speech. The relevant<br />
amendments to the RPGT Act by the <strong>2015</strong> Budget Speech, are<br />
incorporated in the Finance Act (No.2) 2014, which takes effect<br />
from 1 January <strong>2015</strong>.<br />
THE SALIENT POINTS RELATING TO RPGT<br />
(Incorporating amendments made pursuant to the Budget<br />
Speech <strong>2015</strong>)<br />
1.Retention sum - 3% is to be withheld from 1-1-<strong>2015</strong><br />
The buyer *acquirer+ has to withhold 3% *not 2%+ of the<br />
purchase price, and remit it to the Inland Revenue Board<br />
*LHDN+. *Note: With effect from 1-1-<strong>2015</strong>, the retention sum<br />
has been increased from 2% to 3%: see s.21B RPGT Act 1976.+<br />
2. Disposal with no gain<br />
There is no need to remit the retention sum to the Board if the<br />
seller *disposer+ makes no gain. But Form CKHT 3 must be<br />
submitted. For example, where the selling price is less than the<br />
seller’s acquisition price, the seller need not remit any retention<br />
sum to the Board.<br />
Illustration1: If Seller bought a house for RM900,000, and sold it<br />
for RM800,000, no retention sum is required, because he sold<br />
the property at a loss.<br />
3. Rates of RPGT for disposal by a company in 2014<br />
If a company sold its real property within 5 years after acquiring<br />
the property, the RPGT rates payable in the year 2014, *as<br />
shown in the minutes of the meeting+, were as follows *see<br />
Schedule 5, part II+:<br />
30% of the gain in year 1<br />
30% in year 2 30% in year 3<br />
20% in year 4 15% in year 5<br />
5% in year 6 and thereafter<br />
By Yang Pei Keng – 7 May <strong>2015</strong><br />
Note: The rates of RPGT payable by a company *whether<br />
foreign or local+ in the year <strong>2015</strong> remain the same as those<br />
payable in the year 2014.<br />
4. Evidence to be produced (if there is no record of<br />
acquisition)<br />
If the seller *disposer+ has no record of acquisition of the<br />
property, he may produce the following evidence to prove the<br />
details of acquisition:<br />
1. Sale and purchase agreement<br />
2. Transfer form<br />
If the disposal took place within 5 years of his purchase, the<br />
seller may produce copy of the document of title *e.g. Grant+ as<br />
proof of his date of acquisition.<br />
For any property bought *acquired+ before 1.1.1970, the value<br />
of the property as at 1.1.1970 will be taken into account:<br />
Schedule 2, para 4, also Finance (No.2) Act 2014.<br />
If any CKHT form is submitted without evidence of acquisition,<br />
the form will be returned.<br />
5. No RPGT is payable by administrator/executor<br />
a.The date of acquisition of an administrator/executor = the<br />
date of death of the deceased *See Schedule 2, para 15B+. (The<br />
earlier date of purchase by the deceased is not to be taken into<br />
account)<br />
b.The market value as at the date of death of the deceased =<br />
acquisition price of the administrator/executor (not the price<br />
paid by the deceased at a much earlier date).<br />
c.Transmission to the executor/administrator: No gain, no loss.<br />
Therefore No RPGT is payable. The date of disposal is deemed<br />
to be the same as the date of acquisition.<br />
d.Transfer by executor/administrator to a beneficiary: No gain,<br />
no loss. No RPGT is payable.<br />
e.Transfer by an executor to any third party *say pursuant to a<br />
Court Order+ or a buyer: RPGT is payable if there is a gain.<br />
f.Transfer by an administrator to the beneficiary pursuant to<br />
the Distribution Act: No RPGT is payable.<br />
g.Transfer by an administrator to any third party (other than<br />
the beneficiary) pursuant to a Court Order *other than the<br />
beneficiary+ or a buyer:The administrator has to pay RPGT if<br />
there is a gain.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
48
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
49<br />
*NB: Under the National Land code, the administrator/executor<br />
must be described as “as representative” (sebagai Wakil) (and<br />
not as administrator or executor) in the transfer form for the<br />
transfer to the beneficiary or any third party.+<br />
6.Disposal of assets of a deceased citizen<br />
If a non-permanent resident administrator (say a<br />
Singaporean) of the estate of a deceased Malaysian disposes of<br />
the assets of the estate:<br />
RPGT is payable (for the RPGT rates payable, see Schedule 5,<br />
Part 1, since it is the sale of the estate of a Malaysian<br />
deceased).<br />
7. Conditional Agreement (not involving approval by the<br />
Authorities) – must remit 3%<br />
The retention sum has to be remitted even for conditional<br />
agreements.<br />
Retention sum of 2% *now 3%+ must be remitted for disposal<br />
under any type of sale and purchase agreement, except those<br />
cases exempt from RPGT as stated in Form CKHT 3 (e.g. gifts<br />
etc.)<br />
8. Conditional agreement - remittance to be made within 60<br />
days of date of SPA<br />
The retention sum under a conditional agreement *not<br />
involving the approval from an authority+ must be remitted<br />
within 60 days of the signing of the conditional agreement (not<br />
after the condition has been fulfilled.) even though the<br />
condition is yet to be fulfilled.<br />
Exception: A conditional agreement requiring the approval of<br />
the EPU *Economic Planning Unit+, the seller may remit the<br />
retention sum after obtaining the approval. *See Schedule 2,<br />
para 16+<br />
*16(a) Where … the acquisition or disposal requires the approval<br />
by the Government, etc. the date of disposal shall be the date of<br />
such approval.+<br />
Johor Corporation: But if the conditional agreement requires<br />
the approval of Johor Corporation, the retention sum must be<br />
remitted to the Board within 60 days of the signing of the<br />
agreement. Johor Corporation is not an “authority or<br />
committee” appointed by the government.<br />
9. Documents/ receipts for incidental costs<br />
The original documents or receipts for incidental costs *e.g.<br />
legal fees, stamp duty, broker’s commission, etc.+ must be<br />
produced.<br />
If the original documents or receipts are required for other<br />
purposes, a copy of such documents or receipts may be<br />
produced, but the original has to be produced for inspection by<br />
the RPGT officer.<br />
10. Legal fees for bank loans – not allowed as “incidental<br />
costs”?<br />
Legal fees paid for obtaining loans and for Discharge of Charge<br />
are not allowed as incidental costs. The reason given is that<br />
such expenditure does not come within the definition of<br />
“incidental costs” under Schedule 2, para 6.<br />
Comment:<br />
This is an extremely restrictive interpretation of the meaning<br />
of “cost of transfer” under para 6 relating to “incidental costs”.<br />
In order to acquire or buy a property, you need to pay all legal<br />
fees for the transfer and the charge documents for completing<br />
the transfer of the property to the acquirer. Completion of the<br />
transfer of the property, entails payment of all costs incidental<br />
to the transfer *such as legal fees and stamp duty on the<br />
Transfer and the Charge, as well as the Discharge of Charge.<br />
“Costs of transfer” should therefore be given liberal<br />
interpretation to mean “the costs of completing the transfer,<br />
and not merely the costs for attending to the memorandum of<br />
transfer only”.<br />
11. Penalties for late filing<br />
In law, a penalty equivalent to 3 times the amount of the RPGT<br />
payable will be imposed for late filing for the year concerned.<br />
*See s.29(3) of the RPGT Act+, but such provision has not been<br />
strictly adhered to.<br />
As at today, the penalties imposed by the Board are as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
10% for delay up to 12 months<br />
15% 24 months<br />
20% 36 months<br />
25% more than 36 months<br />
RM100 minimum penalty for an individual.<br />
RM200 minimum penalty for non-individual.<br />
12. Reasons for rejecting RPGT forms<br />
Form incomplete: Where RPGT forms submitted are<br />
incomplete, they may be returned and the date chop on the<br />
forms will be cancelled. A covering letter from the Board<br />
returning the forms will be issued.<br />
No tax ref. No.: Any RPGT form *CKHT 1A, 1B and 2A+ submitted<br />
without showing the tax reference number will not be rejected.<br />
*Note: The answer is silent on CKHT3 without tax reference<br />
number+.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
49
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
50<br />
13. Paying income tax (instead of RPGT ) – no retention sum<br />
required<br />
If a disposer *not a developer+ intends to pay corporate tax,<br />
instead of RPGT, he does not have to withhold or remit the 3%<br />
retention sum. Any person doing the business of selling and<br />
buying real property is subject to income tax, but not RPGT.<br />
14. Transfer of houses by any developer *for settling debts+<br />
Where a developer transfers houses as consideration for<br />
settling the debt due and owing to his supplier, he has to pay<br />
income tax on such transfers. No RPGT is payable. No retention<br />
sum is required.<br />
ISSUES RELATING TO STAMP DUTY<br />
15. Stamping principal and subsidiary Documents<br />
Subsidiary documents *e.g. any letter of guarantee and power<br />
of attorney+ can be stamped together with the principal<br />
documents *e.g. any facility agreement and charge document+.<br />
But the principal agreement must be stamped first before<br />
stamping the subsidiary document.<br />
16. Rejection of documents because of Errors<br />
Inspection of documents will be made by the Board before<br />
rejecting them. Usually, common mistakes are typo errors, such<br />
as NRIC number, address of the property, dates, names of the<br />
parties, etc. Solicitors are advised to check the type-written<br />
particulars before submitting the documents.<br />
17. Payment of stamp duty by way of bank draft or client<br />
account cheque<br />
Payment of stamp duty by way of bank draft or client account<br />
cheque will only be accepted by the Board within 3 days from<br />
the date of issue of the bankdraft or client account cheque.<br />
(Why 3 days only when a cheque is valid for 6 months?) Such<br />
ruling has caused unnecessary inconvenience or hardship to law<br />
firms.<br />
The Johore Bar Committee made a request for a longer period<br />
of time for such purpose. But no direct answer was given.<br />
Instead, to solve the problem, the Board has introduced the e-<br />
Payment system to facilitate payment by solicitors. Such e-<br />
Payment will help expedite the process and reduce the cost of<br />
operation of the law firms concerned.<br />
18. Stamping documents for loans granted in foreign<br />
currencies<br />
Stamping a document for a loan given in any foreign currency,<br />
will be done through the STAMPS system. Example given:<br />
Type of document: Loan Agreement *in foreign currency+<br />
Amount of loan: SGD10,000 x RM2.50 = RM25,000<br />
19. Ad valorem stamp duty on “factoring” agreements<br />
A “factoring” agreement usually attracts RM10 stamp duty<br />
only: item 32(c) First Schedule, Stamp Act. But the explanation<br />
given is that a factoring agreement is a loan, and therefore, ad<br />
valorem stamp duty is payable: item 22 or item 27, Stamp Act.<br />
But “assigning book debt” which is a loan agreement,<br />
attracts RM10 stamp duty only under item 32(c).<br />
“The absolute sale of any account receivables or book debts to<br />
a bank” should attract stamp duty under item 32(a). But if it<br />
refers to a factoring agreement, it attracts RM10 stamp duty<br />
under item 32(c).<br />
20. 0.1% stamping duty on any “clean loan” Any loan not<br />
secured by a bank charge *e.g. by a loan agreement, loan<br />
document or personal guarantee+ is known as a “clean loan” in<br />
the banking industry. If such “clean loan’ is repayable on<br />
demand or by lump sum payment, stamp duty payable is only<br />
0.1% *item 22(1)(b), see PU(A) 258+.<br />
On the other hand, if the loan is secured by a charge, stamp<br />
duty is payable under item 27(a)(iii) of Schedule 1.<br />
21. Cancellation of stamp duty in the System.<br />
Cancellation of stamp duty can be effected in the System. An<br />
application must first be made, and the stamp duty paid will be<br />
refunded if the conditions under s.57 or s.58 of the Stamp Act<br />
1949 have been complied with.<br />
22. SME in the Stamp Act vis-à-vis SME Corporation<br />
The 2 definitions are not the same. The Stamp Duty Division<br />
takes note of the amendment of the definition of SME, which<br />
took effect from 1.1.2014.<br />
In the light of the joint discussion of Bahagian Analisa Cukai,<br />
Ministry of Finance, the existing interpretation remains and<br />
applies, until the Stamp Act has been amended. It is subject to<br />
the policy laid down by the Ministry of Finance.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
50
PAGES OF POETRY- A Meandering<br />
Mind<br />
S. Balarajah<br />
Four and fifty years ago on the 30 th of October 1961<br />
proceedings were held in the Supreme Court, Kuala<br />
Lumpur to welcome Mr Justice Mohamed Suffian to the<br />
bench of the High Court, Malaya. Those present in Court<br />
for the ceremony were the then Attorney-General C.M.<br />
Sheridan, Registrar of the Supreme Court S.S Gill and the<br />
Chairman of the Bar Council, Malaya, R. Ramani. The Bar<br />
Chair, Ramani in his felicitatory address<br />
inter alia said:<br />
“These days it is unfashionable to<br />
refer to the traditions of British<br />
colonialism in any terms of praise. But<br />
I am unashamed to confess before<br />
you today that we, the Bench and Bar<br />
of this country are the heirs to three<br />
noble traditions deriving from that colonialism: first of<br />
all, the English Language, secondly the British system of<br />
justice: and lastly and by no means least important the<br />
British spirit of democracy.”<br />
People proclaim that history is written by the victors.<br />
Those who were colonialized by the<br />
colonialists be they the British , the<br />
French, the Spanish the Dutch or the<br />
Portugese say that their history is<br />
written by the colonialists. They claim<br />
that the Colonialists seem to inform<br />
them and educate all as to where we<br />
come from where we are and where<br />
we are heading to. They seem all<br />
knowing and all powerful.<br />
It appears that amongst the colonialists the British were<br />
perhaps the most benevolent. The system of<br />
Government (of course some freedom fighters and<br />
successors in the newfound regimes have adulterated<br />
and screwed up democratic notions and teachings and<br />
taken on more powers than what an English style<br />
democracy allows) and the doctrine of separation of<br />
powers are all left to us by the benevolent colonialists.<br />
These are in fact remnants of our colonial past, are they<br />
not? But we have polluted and adulterated them beyond<br />
recognition to near autocratic and dictatorial<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
governments. All organs of the government transformed<br />
to organs of people in power. The white Tuans were, on<br />
careful reflection, not too evil. They had embedded in<br />
the breasts a degree and fairness and their hands were<br />
guided by justice and their hearts full of benevolence an<br />
not greed and avariciousness. But the brown tuans and<br />
the black ones in some jurisdictions have brought their<br />
countries to doom dereliction and gloom. Like the whore<br />
in Jalan Meldrum and the cab driver in Jalan Ah Fook<br />
they say “jemput naik” only to bring their citizenry to<br />
doom and gloom. The Malaysian Penal Code and CPC<br />
were brought into the then Malaya from India by the<br />
English. The Indian Penal Code Evidence Act and<br />
Contracts Act were all brought by the English from India.<br />
First brought to the Straits Settlement and then to the<br />
rest of the Malay States. That is why we use Pollock and<br />
Mulla, Sarkar on Evidence and Ratanlal on Crimes etc.<br />
In the Highway Code you will find under Rule 25 this wee<br />
4 liner:<br />
“Here Lies the body of Jonathan Gray,<br />
Who died maintaining his right of way,<br />
He was quite in the right as he sped along,<br />
But he’s just as dead as if he’d been wrong.”<br />
An English Testator in his last Will and Testament<br />
penned:<br />
“As to all my worldly goods now, or to be, in store,<br />
I give to my beloved wife and hers for evermore.<br />
I give all freely, I no limit fix:<br />
This is my will, and she’s executrix.”<br />
A wise one once said that the English language is “the<br />
key to the world’s brains.” Narrow minded and parochial<br />
nationalists have deprived few generations of Malaysians<br />
from speaking the BBC or the Queen’s English as we once<br />
used to! Some politicians who have by default and<br />
effluxion of time have become leaders in public statutory<br />
and Governmental outlets of the nation can hardly hold a<br />
proper or fair conversation in the English Language. It is<br />
most embarrassing to see them on the International<br />
stage. An international embarrassment indeed but does<br />
anybody really care?.<br />
Don’t we owe to the English minds and civilization a<br />
whole world of gratitude for enriching our lives. The<br />
education and edification we received from wordsmiths<br />
like Byron Shakespeare Shelly Terryson GB Shaw<br />
51<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
51
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
52<br />
Maugham etc cannot be measured. They all penned in<br />
English and their contribution to literature cannot be<br />
measured. India is a land of multitude of peoples, religions,<br />
languages tribes etc etc but somehow they preserved and<br />
promoted the English language. Some of the current<br />
popular writers of the English Language are from India<br />
China Indonesia and Japan are currently promoting the<br />
study of the English language.<br />
Some English have a wicked sense of humour. Be a little<br />
flippant and read of what Robert Burns (was he not a Scot?)<br />
wrote on rings and marriages:<br />
Robert Burns and The 3 rings.<br />
We have all heard it repeated ad nauseam in many a<br />
wedding banquet – “engagement ring, wedding ring and<br />
suffer-ring”!<br />
But Robert Burns (“Auld Lang Syne”) also wrote that there<br />
are 3 rings in a marriage. The engagement ring, the<br />
wedding ring and the suffering. He further wrote:<br />
Ibohal Kshetrimayum – An Indian Poet<br />
“She asked why wedding rings are<br />
made of gold:<br />
I ventured this to instruct her:<br />
Why madam love and lightning<br />
are the same,<br />
On earth they glance from heaven<br />
they came.<br />
Love is the soul’s electric flame<br />
And gold its best conductor.”<br />
- Robert Burns<br />
K. Ravikant Singh 61 years of age from India, is a Civil<br />
Engineer. Works as a Project Engineer in Shillong, India.<br />
(The place where former India President Abdul Kalem<br />
collapsed and passed away recently). His nom-de-plume is<br />
Ibohal Kshetrimayum. His famously accepted poem – “Who<br />
caused the Ripples?” was published in the last issue of<br />
<strong>INFO</strong>. A critic K. Satchidandan in a review after an interview<br />
with Ibohal says that the poet is an all time poet who never<br />
forces poetry to come out of him. He would wait and<br />
pontificate and then it comes to him in the form of scenes<br />
and images. Sometimes in his dreams and it explains the<br />
quantity of poems which are dreamy and dusky.<br />
Ibohal crafted the rather quaint poem and titled it “BLACK”.<br />
It is like a rustic village tale. But it is said to be partially true.<br />
It is about his childhood acquaintance of his whose name<br />
was Musuk (“Black”). The protagonist Black, Ibohal’s old<br />
friend passed on in 1974. The poet penned that Black was<br />
born into a noble family of Brahmins but soon became an<br />
outcaste and a thief who was hated by all the villagers. As if<br />
in a Tamil/Hindi cinema fashion the poet and Black fall for<br />
the same lassie. To befriend the girl, Black stole the poet’s<br />
new shirt and walked past the poet with the girl in his arms<br />
wearing the poet’s shirt!. This shattered the poet. Black not<br />
only stole the poet’s shirt but also the girl of his dreams!<br />
What a twin shalter! Much later one cold January day Black<br />
was found hanging on a tree. Dead. The poet loved him and<br />
took back the shirt and kept it clean and safe. He has a<br />
forgiving heart and forgave Black for stealing his shirt and<br />
his heart! Strange, one is minded to say. But men’s ways<br />
are always strange, are they not.<br />
No magic or acute philosophy in “Black” but it shows the<br />
feelings of the poet and the love he had for a friend who<br />
was despised by the rest of the community. The words “he<br />
surprised me with his other colours” says much. Nicely<br />
coined. There is goodness even in a thief. Is this not a<br />
universally accepted truth?<br />
The sad and mundane poem goes like this:<br />
BLACK<br />
Black was a thief,<br />
who stole anything<br />
between pots and clothes.<br />
Son of a pundit,<br />
he became a thief, and<br />
humiliated the Brahmins.<br />
I did not want to be a thief<br />
but we were friends,<br />
Black and I.<br />
All hated him,<br />
but he surprised me<br />
with his other colors.<br />
We fell in love<br />
with the same woman,<br />
who loved him over me.<br />
I spat venom,<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
52
when Black walked past me<br />
with her in his arms<br />
wearing my new shirt<br />
I couldn’t find the other day<br />
sometime between noon and dusk.<br />
Sad and defeated,<br />
with vengeance nibbling my heart,<br />
I returned home late.<br />
I found my shirt on the bed,<br />
with a note from Black:<br />
“Sorry!! I’d to look clean for her.”<br />
On a frozen January morning<br />
they found his body,<br />
hanging from a tree.<br />
Now he has paid for her, said those<br />
who hated him; but I heard<br />
her tears saying - They killed him!<br />
I forgave him for the shirt and<br />
his love for her,<br />
and I still keep the shirt clean.<br />
Nnamdi Osu (Nigeria)<br />
The poet Nnamdi Osu is from Nigeria<br />
and writes: “I’m just an average person<br />
trying to lighten the stress in this world<br />
by offering inspiration poems, articles<br />
and advices through what I love best”<br />
I'll still be living in a poverty that<br />
assaults my country.<br />
It's an irony that a land filled with milk<br />
and honey,<br />
Still cries "no money",<br />
With it's leaders becoming millionaires<br />
every second,<br />
And the people, poorer every minute,<br />
Thus making the leaders billionaires<br />
every hour,<br />
And the people paupers every day.<br />
A nation that sighs and cries for debt<br />
relief,<br />
Deceiving the world to believe in it's<br />
grief,<br />
But in reality, the leaders are living in<br />
luxury,<br />
Embezzling without thinking of me -,<br />
A poor, poor child with no hopes of<br />
being who I want to be.<br />
It's so hard living in a third world<br />
country<br />
That even if I somehow happened to win<br />
a lottery,<br />
I'll still be living in a poverty that<br />
assaults my country<br />
And now a short poem of fellows who<br />
claim to be leaders and who bless us<br />
with nightmares by an Indian poet Vijay<br />
Vishal.<br />
Vijay Vishal is from India and of the<br />
Poet, Bijay Kant Dubey wrote:<br />
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
Portrait Of A Politician - Vijay Vishal<br />
A canker<br />
Who cankers the very wood<br />
Wherein he stays.<br />
A climber<br />
Who sucks<br />
The marrow of those<br />
Who nursed and nourished him<br />
With pills and potions of power.<br />
A snake<br />
Who stings and bites<br />
Those<br />
Who managed milk for him.<br />
Makes promises<br />
Which<br />
Never means to fulfill<br />
Wears smiles<br />
Which<br />
Emerge not from the heart<br />
Preaches precepts<br />
Which<br />
Flouts with impunity<br />
Propounds principles<br />
Which<br />
Violates with a vengeance.<br />
Swears by poverty<br />
But shuns the poor<br />
Castigates riches<br />
But sheathes the rich<br />
Declares war on corruption<br />
But shields the corrupt<br />
Loudly advises frugality<br />
But rolls in regality.<br />
53<br />
Reflections Of A Third World Child<br />
It's so hard living in a third world<br />
country<br />
That even if I somehow happened to win<br />
a lottery,<br />
“Vijay Vishal as an Indian English poet<br />
Is an author of two collections<br />
Published from Writers Workshop,<br />
Calcutta, Namely, Speechless Messages<br />
and Parting Wish<br />
Born in 1949 at his maternal village,<br />
Mirzazaan Distt. Gurdaspur, Punjab<br />
Vishal is a native of Amrtitsar Who did<br />
his M.A in English From Khalsa college,<br />
Amritsar in 1971”<br />
A living and licentious example<br />
Not<br />
Of service-above-self<br />
But<br />
Service-unto-self.<br />
Nowadays watching CNN BBC or CNA is<br />
altogether depressing. Malaysian News,<br />
Syrian news, ISIS news – all news<br />
reports are most depressing. Perhaps<br />
the Hindus are right – it is “Kali –<br />
Yugam” – end days. As Frank Sinatra<br />
sang perhaps it may be true that the<br />
end is near! As students in London in<br />
the 1970’s we spotted a geyzer (a<br />
sandwich man) in the Hyde Park<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
53
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
54<br />
carrying a poster “The End is Nigh.” Believe he is still<br />
around!<br />
Everything these days seem to collapse and people are so<br />
disappointing and so some of us are minded to say “Stop<br />
the world, I want to get down!”<br />
“Stop the world I want to get off”, is a musical with a book<br />
music and lyrics by Lesle Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The<br />
title was derived from a graffito. There was a Warner<br />
Brothers fils release in 1966. We may be able to get off but<br />
can we get back? Only ONE had a second coming thus far?<br />
So, it will be a one-way ticket!<br />
Stop The World I Want To Get Off!<br />
Stop the world I want to get off,<br />
I feel my time here is complete.<br />
I,ve no more the wanting nor the will,<br />
to stay another sunrise.<br />
My time of being calm, humane,<br />
has just excelled it's sell by date.<br />
So I wish to leave and hold no memories.<br />
Stop the world, please let me get off,<br />
for I know now I’m in hell.<br />
I see no light at the end of my tunnel,<br />
where's the heaven on which they speak?<br />
I need to find my own escape,<br />
perhaps another planet as yet unknown,<br />
just launch me there I shant turn around.<br />
“When Roman General, Julius Caesar’s<br />
wife Pompeia was criticised for an<br />
alleged opprobrious behaviour with a<br />
young patrician, Clodius, Caesar<br />
divorced his wife despite no crime<br />
being proven against both of them.,<br />
the wife Pompeia and the young<br />
Clodius. Caesar said : “My wife ought not even to be under<br />
suspicion”<br />
Now the desert (No: II) : Palladuz an ancient Greek<br />
philosopher said:<br />
“There are 2 happy days in a man’s life.<br />
They day he takes his bride to bed and<br />
The day he lays her in her grave.”<br />
And lastly please pass the vintage tawny port.<br />
“I can retain neither respect nor affection for a government<br />
which has been moving from wrong to wrong in order to<br />
defend its immorality.”<br />
Mahatma Gandhi<br />
S. Balarajah<br />
Johore Bar<br />
21.8.<strong>2015</strong><br />
Stop the world, I beg to get off,<br />
I’m finding dreams a better reality.<br />
Within my dreams there are no wars,<br />
within a war dreams die too.<br />
This earth as got me down to much,<br />
I wish to pass on as an entity.<br />
To be released from these chains that bind me,<br />
so I can sail free to the wind.<br />
I beg your acceptance to my request,<br />
please stop the world and let me get off.<br />
Stop this damn world and let me off.<br />
To wind up the meandering thoughts here are some further<br />
and better (?) thoughts!<br />
Food For Thought (No: I): Pause ponder and pontificate.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
54
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
55<br />
Just for Laughs<br />
Credits:: Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com | Content courtesy of bigfootjustice.com<br />
| Content courtesy of Web Donuts under Creative Commons courtesy of www.webdonuts.com | Content<br />
courtesy of mooselakecartoons.com | Content courtesy of xkcd.com | Content courtesy of www.lukesurl.com<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
55
<strong>INFO</strong><br />
JOHORE<br />
<strong>BAR</strong><br />
56<br />
Towns<br />
JOHORE <strong>BAR</strong> STATISTICS AS AT 30TH SEPTEMBER <strong>2015</strong><br />
LAW FIRMS<br />
LAWYERS<br />
30.9.<strong>2015</strong> Increase/Decrease 30.9.<strong>2015</strong> Increase/Decrease<br />
(1) Johor Bahru 411 3 1312 31<br />
(2) Batu Pahat 71 1 137 3<br />
(3) Muar 68 5 127 4<br />
(4) Kluang 47 -5 80 5<br />
(5) Segamat 20 0 43 1<br />
(6) Kulai 18 0 37 2<br />
(7) Pontian 14 0 19 0<br />
(8) Kota Tinggi 14 1 23 1<br />
(9) Masai 12 -1 19 3<br />
(10) Yong Peng 6 0 7 0<br />
(11) Tangkak 6 1 9 2<br />
(12) Pasir Gudang 4 0 9 2<br />
(13) Mersing 3 0 5 -3<br />
(14) Gelang Patah 3 0 5 -1<br />
(15) Ulu Tiram 2 -1 2 -1<br />
(16) Simpang Renggam 1 -1 2 -1<br />
(17) Pekan Nanas 1 0 1 0<br />
(18) Labis 1 0 1 0<br />
In the State of Johor 703 4 1838 43<br />
Total Membership<br />
As at 30th September <strong>2015</strong>, the total membership of the Johore Bar is 1838. There has been an increase of 43 members<br />
since the last statistics (on 31st December 2014). The total membership of the Johore Bar constitutes 11% approx. of that<br />
of the Malaysian Bar.<br />
1. Lawyers in Johor Bahru<br />
There are 1312 members practising in the city of Johor Bahru. They account for 71% of the total membership in<br />
the State of Johor (i.e. 1312/1838 members).<br />
2. Law Firms in the State of Johor<br />
The total number of law firms in the State of Johor is 703. There has been an increase of 4 law firms since December 2014.<br />
The number of law firms in Johor Bahru has increased (from 408 to 411). They constitute 58% approx. (i.e. 411/703) of the<br />
law firms in the State of Johor.<br />
www.johorebar.org.my<br />
56