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I don't think that a sole proprietor Solicitor should be made to hire a bookkeeper to comply with the two signatory rule. This is simply offensive. Why should I hire someone to check me?

First of all this would offend the LPA; 2ndly this would only mean that we can't trust ourselves.

Partnerships have two more signatory rules for purposes of contractual relations between the partners.

Your suggestion seems to stifle us. I know that you are looking at it from the point of view of security and safeguards but what assurances can you give that a bookkeeper employed to comply with the two signatory rule will not work with the solicitor concerned to commit CBT, if at all.

This is not going to solve the problem, if at all there is a problem.

Anyways could you let us have the statistics of cases involving Sole Proprietors who have committed CBT or fiddled with their Client's accounts.

BTW is this a practice in other jurisdictions?

Avinder Singh Gill

As a sole proprietor I am most appalled that anybody in the committee could even think about the proposition to have sole proprietor checked by a book-keeper.

Recently I issued a cheque for RM3,300,000.00. It was sole signatured under my clients' account. It was also cleared in (to my clients' account) and out (issued to the vendor) within 3 days. Would an act that requires honesty be checkable by a 2nd person?

Please do not make life difficult. It is already difficult enough to survive as a practising lawyer. One bad apple maketh a bunch of suffering good & honest practitioners!

It is good to have check and balances but please don't go overboard and be a hero within the committee! You may yourself be hooked by your own eagerness to shine honesty over and above what is ethically impossible to describe and uphold except from within one's heart and soul.

Lawrence Teh

Discussions on two signature rule must be handled with utmost care. Too much exaggeration on this subject (even though it does not materialise at end of the day) could jeopardise public confidence on sole-prorietorship firm and consequently affect rice-bowls of many sole-proprietors.

Yeong Buang Leng

Thank you for your comments and views which are indeed very relevant to the sub-committee. We will certainly take into consideration your views before putting up our recommendation to the Bar Council.

Bernard Kok

My dear Bernard Kok

My heartiest congratulations on your appointment to this hot seat. Please tread carefully. Most lawyers are one-man shows.

To impose the two-signatory rule and then require a sole proprietor to hire a book-keeper to comply with that means compliance costs that is most unwelcome. I have argued against that.

I know that the committee is set up to "study" the above-stated proposals and make recommendations, where necessary.

As Lawrence Teh posed rhetorically, "Would an act that requires honesty be checkable by a 2nd person?"

He adds: "Please do not make life difficult. It is already difficult enough to survive as a practising lawyer. One bad apple maketh a bunch of suffering good & honest practitioners!"

I verily believe there is merit in that honest-to-goodness view put up by Lawrence because we now have 12,000 lawyers fighting in a market of 24 million Malaysians. And, contrary to what the Government has repeatedly said, the economy is NOT growing.

Stephen Tan Ban Cheng

I get the impression that this is a result of us trying to learn from the experience of the legal profession in another jurisdiction: Singapore. The new rules in Singapore have come out and if you take a cursory look at it, some of the areas of review here in Malaysia were adopted in Singapore.

Rishwant Singh

Do we have anyone in the sub-committee who is a sole proprietor? If not, may I humbly suggest that at least one be co-opted to help the sub-committee appreciate the problems be faced by sole-proprietors which may not be appreciated by partnership solicitors.

Ng Hong Chai

Dear all,

I think that Bernard and his team are still open for further suggestions. Knowing Bernard, I have full confidence in his leadership as he is both meticulous and well-versed.

Nicole Tan Lee Koon