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Contributed by the National
Young Lawyers Committee
 ‘To save one’s life is to save the world entire’
Dev, 30, is a young lawyer practicing in Penang. He was admitted to the
Malaysian Bar in 2001, and was the Penang YL State Representative to the NYLC
for two terms (2005-07). Angeline Cheah, a good friend, spoke to him recently.
Have you always wanted to be a lawyer or were you influenced by your father
to pursue your career?
Yes, I wanted to be a lawyer since I was a young boy. I started going to Court
with my father since I was 8 years old. I remember in 1986 I followed my father
to the Alor Setar High Court for a drug trafficking case which was fixed for
decision on that day. The judge was Dato’ Ariff. When the judgment was
pronounced, the client was acquitted. I was sitting right in front of the dock.
After the decision, he was so happy that he cried, still handcuffed. He thanked
my father and then looked at me and asked who I was. When my father told him
that I was his son, he hugged me, still in handcuffs, and that was the day I
told myself I would be a criminal defence lawyer. ‘To save one’s life is to save
the world entire’. My father used to tell me the reason that we are criminal
lawyers is to defend clients based on their instructions and on their version of
the facts, and argue using facts and procedure. Our duty is not to be concerned
with whether he is guilty or not. That is a matter of conscience. If a criminal
lawyer develops that, he should stop practicing criminal law. I personally
believe everyone should be given a second chance, and that is why I feel every
accused should have that chance.
You yourself have recently become the proud father of a beautiful baby girl. Would you want your daughter to follow in your footsteps?
Well, my father is a lawyer and my sister is a lawyer. It would be a lie if I
said that I didn’t want my daughter to follow in my footsteps. However, I would
want two things before she becomes a lawyer. Firstly, she must become a lawyer
without any pressure from family and friends. Secondly, the circumstances - the
profession and practice - must still be an honourable one and full of respect
for her to join it.
Has your perspective on life changed since becoming a lawyer?
No, my perspective and outlook on life are based on one thing, that is,
principles. I have personal principles which I must follow and I cannot give up.
I have had them since I was a child, student days and until now. However, I do
feel that being a professional is very different here. It’s about who you know
and what people think and their opinions. Your life is put under a microscope.
But it has not changed my perspective because I try to stick to my principles.
The only perspective which has changed is becoming a father as my priorities
change.
What are some of the challenges that you face being a criminal defence
practitioner?
In all cases, especially remand cases, we try our best to make sure that the
case proceeds. However, most of the time the case cannot proceed because the
matter is not within our control. Also, there is the challenge of coming up
against a fair and professional prosecution.
The murder of Canny Ong made headlines in all major newspapers and more
recently, the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence of the accused. What are
your views on this matter?
What the High Court and the Court of Appeal decide is binding on us with respect
to the law of evidence and procedure, but I feel this case was also tried in
public with the media and newspapers. That changes everything.
You are very involved in legal aid. Why is legal aid important?
Legal aid is something which is absolutely necessary in any country’s legal
system and we in Penang are proud to be the pioneers. Legal aid is important for
many reasons, the most important being access to legal representation for those
who cannot afford it. Legal aid is not only for representation in Court but it
also covers legal advice and reaching out to the rural areas and offering legal
advice. I feel every lawyer should undertake pro bono briefs in their particular
field, at least once in their practice.
The compulsory dock brief programme for chambering pupils was implemented in
Penang mid-last year. How has the programme developed since then?
We are very happy that the dock brief finally started in Penang – the 2nd Bar
after the KL Bar to have it. Although at first the number of cases was very
impressive, we have seen a drop in numbers due to the overwhelming case load of
pre-2003 criminal hearings that have been directed to be completed. However,
from January 2007, the numbers have picked up as there are only two criminal
magistrates’ courts in Penang as opposed to seven in KL. We are currently trying
to find a more efficient system in the running of the programme by co-ordinating
between the Penang Bar Committee, the Penang Legal Aid Centre and the Penang Bar
Criminal Law Committee.
You have recently been elected into the Penang Bar Committee for 2007/2008
and I believe you are now holding the position of Honorary Secretary. In what
way do you think you can contribute to the Penang Bar?
Having been Dock Brief Supervisor and Secretary for the Criminal Law Committee
over the last two years, and now the Honorary Secretary, my role is to ensure
that the administration of the Penang Bar Committee is run smoothly primarily by
co-ordinating with the Executive Director. I also have two added portfolios of
being the Chairman of Welfare of Penang lawyers and Chairman of Pupils Affairs.
As Secretary and in charge of these two portfolios, I have to ensure the needs
and grievances of my fellow members are brought to the Bar Committee and we will
try our best to address them.
Since section 46(A)(1)(a) Legal Profession Act, 1976 has been repealed, would
you encourage other young lawyers to take up committee positions in their
respective State Bars? Why?
As a young lawyer, I would most certainly want to see young practitioners
contribute and participate in their respective State Bars, but I am still an
advocate of the notion that one must have a certain number of years of
experience in order to serve in the committee. This is because in my view with
the repeal of section 46(A)(1)(a), all lawyers are now equal and therefore all
representation of lawyers are now equal. What I am afraid of is a State Bar
being run solely by young practitioners. This will lead to a breakdown in
authority and a lack of stature amongst other professionals and more
importantly, a lack of respect amongst the Bench.
Tell us about your experience as the Penang Young Lawyers’
Representative and also your participation in the NYLC.
It was very rewarding to be elected 2 years in a row as representative and when
I did go down for meetings in the NYLC, the topics of discussion were always
about the interests of young lawyers. Sadly, the concern and the interest taken
by Penang young lawyers were dismal as compared to the KL Bar, which was the
complete opposite. What disappointed me was the lack of input, ideas and
suggestions from Penang young lawyers in the improvement of the interests of
Penang young lawyers. In KL, not only do they have many activities, but they
have a lot of participation and that was lacking in the Penang Bar. However, I
did enjoy myself in the NYLC and the most enjoyable time I had was being able to
hear different views from fellow state representatives.
If you had 3 wishes, what would you wish for?
Firstly, I would wish to ensure that my daughter is able to get the type of
education that I was fortunate to have had. Secondly, I would wish that the Bar
in general and specifically, the Penang Bar would go back to the
professionalism, respect and courtesy of the good old days where lawyers were
not seen as colleagues but were seen as fellow brothers and sisters in the law,
and finally, as a criminal defence lawyer, I would wish to carry out my practice
according to my father’s teachings and to always fight until the end.
Other YL Personalities:
Sandesh Kabir
Singh
Edelina Sophia
Binti Sophian Pulle
Mohd Busyairy
Bin Che Muda
Wong Fook Meng
Fadiah Nadwa
Fikri
Lee Chooi Peng
Angeline Cheah
Yin Leng
Mishant a/l
Thiruchelvam
Shahrizal Bin
Mohd Zin
Rezalman B.
Bahran
Gavin Tang Cheng
Loong
Noreen Ahmad
Ariff
Nadia Ashikin
binti Maduarin
David Dinesh
Mathew
Nizam Bashir
Bin Abdul Kariem Bashir
Amer Hamzah
Bin Arshad
Ernie
Suffiani Binti Salim
Ahmad Syukri
Bin Yusoff
Dipendra
Harshad Rai
Soo Wee Loon
Tracy Hah
Aminuddin bin
Abdullah
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Invitation to the Launching of the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur) Website 
Dear Dev,
You are quite right. It is not a lawyer to decide on their client's guilt no matter what facts are told. Many friends have asked me, do criminal lawyers sleep soundly at night? The answer is simple, a client is innocent until proven guilty and I verily believe in that. The flip side of the coin, what if my client is truly innocent? The public's perception has always been, if a person is caught, he must have some skeletons in his closet, which is often untrue.
Ng Chung Yee