Saturday, February 23, 2019

KLBar Reference Proceedings Speech - 15.2.2019


REFERENCE PROCEEDINGS


Y.A. Datin Azizah binti Haji Nawawi
Date : 15th February 2019 (Friday)
Time : 9:30 am
Venue: Mahkamah Tinggi 46
Level 3, Right Wing
Kuala Lumpur Court Complex
Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, Kuala Lumpur


Dengan Izin Yang Arif,

Saya, Goh Siu Lin, hadir bagi pihak Jawatankuasa Bar Kuala Lumpur, rakan-rakan
bijaksana saya, Pn Hendon Mohammed  mewakili Majlis Peguam Malaysia dan
Pn Ruzaimah bt Mohd Ridzuan , hadir mewakili Yang Berbahagia Peguam Negara.

Yang Arif, saya dengan hormatnya memohon izin untuk meneruskan dalam Bahasa
Inggeris.

My Lady,

I would first like to acknowledge the presence this morning of:

Retired Court of Appeal Judge Dato’ Mahadev Shankar as well as other senior
members of the Bar who have taken time off their busy schedule to attend
this solemn occasion.

My Lady,

May I begin by thanking My Lady for agreeing to preside over these Reference
Proceedings for our departed members of the KL Bar which is a solemn and
meaningful occasion that is unique to our legal profession. The tradition ceased
in 1988 but was resurrected on 19.9.2002 and continues strongly until this day.

Therefore, we express our deepest gratitude to Your Ladyship for upholding one
of the finest traditions of the Bar which marks the close of a chapter in a member
of the Bar’s professional career which began with his / her call to the Bar.

My Lady,

We have gathered today in Court before Your Ladyship to pay tribute to the
memory of our eight (8) members who have passed on and to express our
heartfelt condolences.

The legal profession is the only profession that welcomes new members with
a ceremonial Call to the Bar and remembers them when they depart. It is a
tradition that the legal fraternity cherishes as it recognises each member’s
salutary achievements to the law and the profession.

The significance of the ceremonial reference was explained 20 years ago
(25.4.1998) at a special reference for the late Dato Ronald Khoo, by former
Malaysian Bar President, Dato Dr Cyrus Das whom I quote:
The practice of references for deceased Judges and lawyers served
to remind us that we belong to one body with one objective, namely,
the pursuit of justice through the legal process. In that collective
effort, governed by the unwritten rules of etiquette and tradition
which are just as important as the written ones, the death of one
of us diminishes the whole, and so we gather to mourn the loss,
to pay tribute and remind ourselves that the journey must be made
and the faith must be kept.
This morning is an occasion to take a step back from the frenetic pace of
practice and reflect on the meaning and significance of our work as lawyers.
We are also here to formally record and honour the lives of our members, to hear
what they stood for, to recognise their contributions, their devotion to advocacy,
their sacrifice to the legal fraternity, to society, to our country. The essence of
their lives have been captured through the lens of their family, friends, colleagues
and loved ones.

My Lady, I have been given the honour and privilege to say a few words and move
these Reference Proceedings on behalf of the Kuala Lumpur Bar. I express my
gratitude to the family members, friends and colleagues who have spent time
through written word, to bring to life, the lives of our eight (8) departed
colleagues at the Bar.


  1. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Yau Wai Leong to move
    the reference proceedings of Teoh Eng Keat. to move


2. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Nor Shahadah bt Saari to move
the reference proceedings of Khoo Kim Guat.


3. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Francis Hoo Wee Keong  
to move the reference proceedings of Dato Haji Sabarudin bin Haji Othman.


4. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Lawrence Pereira  
to move the reference proceedings of Dato Abdullah bin Mohd Yusof.


5. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Dhinesh Baskharan
to move the reference proceedings of Michael Lim Hee Kiang.


6. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Ho Shun Ming
to move the reference proceedings of Ho Hon Mun.



7. My Lady, I seek leave to move the reference proceedings for Patrick Michael Dass.


8. With My Lady’s leave, I call upon my learned friend, Loke Su-Yi
to move the reference proceedings of Tina Cheah Yee Teen.


All written tribute are reproduced in the following link:
(https://www.klbar.org.my/reference-proceedings-15-february-2019/)


My Lady, we have heard how our eight (8) members have profoundly influenced
the lives of others, serving with purpose, honour and distinction.

We are encouraged by their example to develop dynamic leadership within each of
our practices, to internalise and display integrity, ethics and professionalism.

For us to make a positive difference through pro bono work, thought leadership and
shine within our respective spheres of influence and beyond.

On behalf of the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee, I extend our sincere condolences to
their families, relatives and friends who are with us this morning.

My Lady,

To conclude, allow me to share a passage extracted from “When breath becomes air”
Memoirs of the late neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi:

“You that seek what life is in death,
Now find it air that once was breath.
New names unknown, old names gone:
Till time end bodies, but souls none.

Reader! then make time, while you be,
But steps to your eternity.”

-Baron Brooke Fulke Greville

My Lady, in accordance with time-honoured tradition, I respectfully move that a record
of these proceedings be kept in the archives of this Honourable Court with a copy
to be extended to the respective families of those to whom we have paid tribute to
this morning.

I am much obliged, My Lady,

Goh Siu Lin
Chairman

Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee (2018/2019)

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