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The Bar’s Human Rights Committee (the Committee) was formed in the 1980s and today, we have progressed quite far in terms of addressing human rights issues and providing redress to complainants of human rights abuses. During the previous term (2007/08), the Committee adopted ‘A Blueprint for Human Rights’ which contains the Committee’s terms of reference and charts a broad framework to guide our work. This term, we continued our work in line with, and guided by, the Blueprint, which has kept us focused on our mandate, objectives and desired outcomes. The various human rights issues that arose saw the Committee members contribute in multi-layered ways and in varying areas and aspects.

In response to feedback from members, the Committee formed two new Working Groups to deal with, firstly, issues of freedom of expression and media defence, and secondly, migrant and refugee rights. 

As at the time of writing (19 January 2009), the Committee has met on seven occasions this term, most recently on 9 January 2009. The inaugural meeting for the new term, on 18 April 2008, saw many new members joining the Committee, a positive sign for the future of the Bar. To reduce costs, and meeting and travel time, many of the Committee’s decisions are made after discussion - heated, at times - on our e-group. This has greatly increased output and productivity, encouraged frank and frequent expression of views and also increased the level of interaction among the Committee members.

The Committee is glad to note that we have minimised utilisation of Bar resources, as all of our major initiatives have been sustained through external funds. As a result of prudent administration, three initiatives resulted in surplus funds that are secured for the Committee’s future work. Many of our initiatives and projects are documented on the Bar website at the Committee’s homepage, and are summarised below. 

Highlights

I. Policy & Law Reform Working Group (PLRWG) co-chaired by Zarizana bt Abd Aziz and Pushpa Ratnam 

The PLRWG’s work stretched across a wide range of areas this term. Numerous Committee members specialising in specific human rights areas led the various PLRWG contributions. Urgent issues cropped up throughout the term and the PLRWG’s remit, as initially envisaged at the beginning of the term, was quickly subsumed by work undertaken in immediate response to such issues. The PLRWG also worked closely with the Publications Working Group to craft the Committee’s statements on human rights issues through our new ‘HRC Responds’ series. Apart from contributions for the benefit of society, the PLRWG’s internal input to the Committee has been invaluable to inform and educate Committee members on human rights principles and positions, particularly with regard to difficult and controversial issues. 

Some key areas of the PLRWG’s work included:

The UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report. Malaysia’s human rights record is due to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), through the UPR mechanism, in February 2009. The PLRWG, alongside the Committee’s Advocacy and Public Relations Working Group (APRWG), submitted a five-page report (UPR Report), on behalf of the Bar Council, to the UNHRC on 8 September 2008.  The report focuses on critical issues facing Malaysia and calls for the Malaysian Government to act urgently to address these issues. These issues included the rights of children, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrant workers and refugees; the electoral process; freedom of information, expression and the media; the need for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission; and privacy and data protection issues. The report, together with submissions by other NGOs, have been summarised in a UN report for discussion. 

Right to Privacy. The Malaysian Government tabled the Deoxyribonucleic Acid Identification Bill (DNA Bill) on 26 August 2008 and attempted to rush the Bill through Parliament. The PLRWG prepared an initial discussion memorandum pointing out the Bill’s deficiencies and its draconian effects, and calling for a Data Protection Act. Joined by the APRWG, the PLRWG lobbied MPs in Parliament to object to the Bill, and raised public awareness on the issue. The Bill has been deferred to 2009. A comprehensive memorandum has been prepared for submission to the Government. The PLRWG will continue to advocate that the right to privacy be secured as a constitutional guarantee and embedded as legislation in the form of a Data Protection Act.  

Gender Equality. After a long silence on gender equality, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development revived its interest in promoting gender equality and sexual harassment legislation, and the PLRWG will revisit this area of work. As part of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM)’s Women’s Rights Sub-committee, the PLRWG will support initiatives to train civil servants and ‘gender focal point’ officers in each Government department on international norms relating to gender equality. The Malaysian Government is due to deliver its combined third and fourth periodic reports to the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). The PLRWG is in discussions with NGOs on preparing a Shadow Report to be submitted to the CEDAW Committee.

In addition, the PLRWG considered and provided policy comments in respect of the Special Complaints Commission Bill, Persons With Disabilities Act and amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA).
  
II. Advocacy and Public Relations Working Group (APRWG) chaired by Andrew Khoo Chin Hock

In the term under review, the APRWG was involved in several contemporary issues of concern. 

Advocacy work with Parliament. In continuing our close collaboration with Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI), the APRWG actively lobbied Parliament to advocate against the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the continued detentions under the same. With the PLRWG, we briefed MPs on the drawbacks of the DNA Bill and highlighted the need for a Data Protection Act. The APRWG also participated in several roundtable discussions organised by MPs on, for example, amendments to the UUCA. 

Advocacy work with Government. The APRWG interacted directly with the Government in respect of the terms of reference of the ASEAN Human Rights Body to be established pursuant to the ASEAN Charter. The APRWG contributed at a meeting organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this purpose. Follow-up work is being coordinated with civil society organisations. To highlight this area, a dialogue between NGOs and Professor Kevin Boyle of Essex University on the ASEAN Charter and lessons to be learnt from the European experience was co-organised by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) and the Committee on 11 November 2008. Another key area of interaction with the Government was in respect of the UPR. With the PLRWG, the APRWG co-ordinated the preparation and submission of the UPR Report to the UNHRC and a copy was submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Follow-up work on this is being coordinated with civil society organisations and there are some initial discussions on sending a representative to attend the meetings in Geneva at which Malaysia’s review will be conducted and its record discussed. This is in order to lobby other UNHRC members to set high goals for Malaysia to achieve in terms of human rights.

Advocacy work with SUHAKAM. The APRWG worked with SUHAKAM on numerous matters during the term. We participated in dialogues on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and participated as observers at the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (in view of the possible downgrading of SUHAKAM’s status by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions). We also contributed to SUHAKAM’s work by presenting papers at various roundtables, for example, on legal empowerment of the poor as a development strategy. In addition, we made an oral submission on the Child Act in conjunction with a memorandum submitted to SUHAKAM by Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT).

Advocacy work as part of the ‘Coalition of Good Governance’ (CGG). The APRWG is involved with civil society initiatives to bring about a return of local government elections, the enactment of freedom of information legislation and the reform of Parliamentary practices and procedures. In this respect, we work alongside a group of NGOs in the CGG. The CGG has been successful in engaging, in particular, the Selangor State Government on the said issues and will continue its efforts. 

Advocacy work in respect of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Committee leads the Malaysian Coalition for an International Criminal Court (MyCICC). The APRWG attended the NGO meetings held alongside the 7th Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. This was to get a better understanding of the ICC’s workings and to network with other NGOs while gaining an insight into the nature and extent of their activities. We also engaged representatives of the Malaysian Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands and the Attorney-General’s Chambers who attended some of the meetings in order to highlight the importance of Malaysia acceding to the Rome Statute as early as possible. To raise awareness regarding the ICC, a one-day seminar regarding the ICC and its relevance to Malaysian lawyers was co-organised on 4 April 2008 with the International Bar Association, supported by the MacArthur Foundation. Speakers included SUHAKAM representatives, the ICC’s Principal Counsel for Victims, the Principal Defender in the Defence Office of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, and from the Malaysian Bar.

Advocacy work within the Bar. A 2nd Malaysian Bar ‘Closed-Door Dialogue on Issues Facing a Multi-racial Society’ was successfully co-organised on 29 February 2008 by the APRWG (on behalf of the Committee), with the Syariah Law Committee and the National Young Lawyers Committee. The focus was on race relations in the country. The event was restricted to members of the Bar and pupils-in-chambers and was useful towards understanding differing perspectives and strengthening ties among members of the Bar. 

In implementing the various Malaysian Bar resolutions on the ISA and other preventive detention laws, the APRWG organised periodic trips to Kamunting Detention Camp, Perak (KEMTA) to visit ISA detainees. Thus far, visits were made on 31 January, 21 April, 21 May, 4 and 24 June, 9 and 23 July, 6, 19 and 20 August, 17 September, 7 and 22 October, 5 and 19 November, 3 and 17 December 2008, and 7 January 2009. The visits involved a team of up to 10 members of the Bar undertaking the following:

Reimbursements of travel expenditure are made from the funds allocated to the Committee for outstation members’ travel for Committee meetings. Over 100 members of the Bar, including a significant number of non-Committee members, have participated in the visits and the list of volunteers grows. 

Finally, the APRWG assisted in the production of the DVD entitled ‘When Lawyers Walk’ in respect of the Bar’s historic ‘Walk for Justice’ on 26 September 2007. Copies are available for purchase at the Bar Council Secretariat. 

International Human Rights Day celebration - Bar Council Human Rights Debate 2008. The annual highlight event of the Committee’s term is the International Human Rights Day (IHRD) celebration. In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Committee decided to promote open discussions on human rights issues through a debating competition. The competition was held on 9-12 December 2008, with the theme ‘UDHR @ 60 and still not all is right’. The competition attracted more than 100 participants from international and local universities and schools, as well as members of the public. Taking the form of the British Parliamentary styled-debates, and with two debaters per team, the participants took on the roles of ‘the Government’ and ‘the Opposition’, and robustly debated issues of detention without trial, same-sex unions, cultural relativism, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to mother-tongue education, the right to privacy (with particular focus on compulsory DNA collection by the State) and the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and indigenous peoples. Omar Sallehuddin and Prabakaran Ganesan won the competition. A public speaking competition was also held simultaneously. 11 participants spoke on a range of human rights issues such as the right to equality, sexual and reproductive rights and the role of human rights in the country. Gabrielle Chong won the competition with her speech on gay rights. Funds for the IHRD celebration were sourced from external sponsors.  

Other activities. We have highlighted the issue of persons with disabilities via participation in dialogues with relevant authorities, and at a seminar and a Law Reform and Special Areas Committee-organised public forum, both regarding the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008.

The APRWG continued to support and work closely with human rights and civil society organisations (such as the Article 11 coalition, GMI, SUARAM, Amnesty International, JERIT, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, Pusat KOMAS, ERA Consumer Malaysia and the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality) throughout the term.

III. Education and Training Working Group (ETWG) co-chaired by Roger Chan Weng Keng and Saha Deva a/l A. Arunasalam

The ETWG continued to conduct capacity-building programmes for Committee members, members of the Bar and university students. A ground-breaking internal training programme was held for 36 Committee members on 18-20 July 2008 at Port Dickson, and generously funded by ERA Consumer Malaysia. Areas covered included the history and growth of the modern human rights movement, international human rights instruments, fundamental liberties in the Federal Constitution, conflict of jurisdiction between the civil and syariah courts, access to justice, the rights of refugees, migrant workers and indigenous peoples, and the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the police. Team-building and inter-personal skills sessions were also conducted, and members actively participated in a debate on cultural relativism.  Feedback received confirmed that the programme was useful for members and should continue in the next term.

The ETWG has also formulated a unique and interactive human rights training module which is being gradually implemented at various State Bars under our ‘Bringing Human Rights Home’ tour, and at private and public educational institutions. The programmes aim to build on the participants’ knowledge of human rights, and feedback has been very encouraging. A session on freedom of expression and sedition laws was conducted in Johor on 21 June 2008, and various sessions are planned for Malacca, Terengganu and Kelantan, in collaboration with the respective State Bar Committees.  The ETWG also carried out sessions at Universiti Malaya and KDU College on 9 and 10 January 2009 respectively. We have been requested to formalise our training programmes, to be offered to students as an elective component of their course. 

Further, a national-level human rights training programme for about 100 members of the Bar and pupils-in-chambers is being planned, and external funding being sought.  Numerous requests have also been made to conduct our programmes in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Singapore.   The ETWG’s work is important and has ‘uncovered’ many young human rights activists.

IV. Complaints & Interventions Strike-Force (CISF) co-chaired by Amer Hamzah bin Arshad and Peter Justin Skelchy 

The CISF was set up with the primary purpose of being the Bar’s ‘one-stop centre’ to investigate, and where necessary, act upon, public complaints of alleged human rights violations. Due to events during the term under review, the CISF focused primarily on issues relating to freedom of expression and assembly. Building on the CISF’s monitoring role at the BERSIH and HINDRAF rallies in 2007, we received more requests from NGOs to deploy teams to monitor various public assemblies, rallies and processions, such as the ‘ISA Candlelight Vigil’ at Dataran Merdeka on 5 January 2008, the ‘May Day Celebration’ on 1 May 2008, the ‘Press Freedom Walk’ on 1 June 2008, the ‘ISA Candlelight Vigil’ at Kamunting on 9 June 2008, the ‘Protes Kenaikan Harga Minyak (PROTES) Rally’ on 7 July 2008, the ‘Orang Asal March’ on 14 September 2008 and the ‘Ride for Change Campaign’ on 18 December 2008. 

Together with the Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre, the CISF mobilised Committee members and volunteer lawyers to render legal assistance and representation to participants who were arrested and detained. Our services included taking instructions, giving advice, accompanying the participants when they were asked to give their statements under section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and arguing remand and bail proceedings. 

The CISF took an active part in SUHAKAM’s Public Inquiry into the Bandar Mahkota Cheras incident (Inquiry), where on the evening of 27 May 2008, there was an alleged use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel during the arrest of several individuals in a car.  Police officers stopped their car during the course of a protest by Bandar Mahkota residents against the re-erection of a barrier that denied residents access to a shorter and cheaper route from Bandar Mahkota to Kuala Lumpur. The Inquiry commenced on 23 July 2008 and went on for six days during July and August 2008, with the CISF’s members taking turns to attend the Inquiry. On behalf of the Bar Council, the CISF submitted a 22-page report to SUHAKAM calling on the Government to, inter alia, review the provisions of the Police Act, the Inspector-General’s Standing Orders and the Police Public Order Manual on the Use of Force, and to incorporate the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials as part of our domestic law. SUHAKAM adopted many of our recommendations in their Inquiry report. The CISF intends to invite SUHAKAM to establish a ‘Joint Lobby Group’, and engage the Government and MPs to debate SUHAKAM’s reports in Parliament and to implement its recommendations. 

The CISF continues to represent, on a pro bono basis, numerous urban poor settlers who have been uprooted and forced to relocate pursuant to eviction notices issued by the Selangor State Government under the Emergency Ordinance. After the Pakatan Rakyat took over the State Government, the State Executive Council formed a ‘Task Force on Urban Settlers’.  CISF members were invited to sit on the Task Force as representatives of the various affected communities. Discussions are on-going to find a holistic solution to the issues faced by both the Government and the communities.
 
The CISF also provided legal support to the ‘Nur Salam Shelter Project’. Nur Salam is a shelter for children operating in Chow Kit established through collaboration between Yayasan Nur Salam and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development’s Welfare Department (WD).  The children are provided with food and shelter with the aim of registering them with the WD and putting them on a formal route to adoption and schooling. The CISF was approached for assistance to deal primarily with the issues of undocumented children and trafficking. There is an urgent need to accord legal recognition to these children. 

Numerous cases and complaints are referred to the CISF for intervention. We try our best to assist but often have little choice but to decline many cases or alternatively refer them to the Legal Aid Centre(s) or other Committees. This is due to our financial and human resource limitations, and because some of the cases would be better-handled by other Committees. It is hoped that more members of the Bar will step up to assist the CISF by volunteering to handle at least one case or complaint on a pro bono basis each term. 

V. Publications Working Group (PWG) co-chaired by Brendan Navin Siva and Noor Arianti binti Osman

The PWG’s objective is to reach out to the public through the delivery of our members’ ideas, knowledge and opinions, and through the dissemination of news on the Committee’s activities and work. This term, with the PLRWG’s input, the PWG introduced and co-ordinated a new series of policy statements on the Bar website entitled ‘HRC Responds’. It contains the Committee’s responses to reports of events or stories published by  both mainstream and alternative media. The series aims to educate the public on international human rights norms and laws, and makes recommendations, including for law reform, for adoption by the Government or relevant bodies. Articles reflect the unanimous view of Committee members. 13 responses have been published thus far on issues such as freedom of assembly, right to privacy, preventive detention legislation, the conversion case of Tan Ean Huang @ Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah and the alleged riot by foreign detainees at the Lenggeng Detention Camp.

The ‘Human Rights and Law’ column in theSun newspaper has now completed its second run. The PWG submitted nine articles that covered, among others, the general elections, the May 13 incident, the Data Protection Bill and the DNA Bill. There are no less than 20 reports and articles published on the Bar website and in PRAXIS regarding the Committee’s activities for the term. The published documents have increasingly become a key source of news and information for the public. Some of the reports and articles are commented on and discussed by members of the Bar, and linked or re-published in blogs, websites and online fora by members of the public. 

As a matter of public service and continuing education of the public of their rights, the PWG is due to launch 100,000 copies of ‘Police and Your Basic Rights’ (popularly known as the ‘Red Book’) in pamphlet form, incorporating recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, in February 2009. Copies of the pamphlet will be distributed throughout Peninsular Malaysia and in crucial areas where awareness of rights is low.

VI.  Orang Asli Affairs Working Group (OAAWG) chaired by Augustine Anthony

While we grapple to understand the meaning of Merdeka, we cannot fail to take into account the plight of marginalised minorities, such as indigenous peoples, who are too often taken for granted. The biggest problem that Orang Asli (OA) communities in Peninsular Malaysia face today relates to land issues. Although the OA may have lived in an area for generations, their land is still not recognised as theirs. Large tracts of their land have been converted for controversial projects. Environmental impact assessments conducted to support these projects require further scrutiny and review. Other issues include unpaid wages and broken promises by employers. The OAAWG, together with the Perak Legal Aid and Human Rights Sub-committee of the Perak Bar Committee, have been at the forefront of promoting awareness of the OA’s problems and empowering the OA communities to pursue justice against their oppressors. Members travel extensively throughout the states, particularly in Perak, and monitor OA communities to identify issues that require attention and to work towards ameliorating their suffering. 

The OAAWG conducted law awareness programmes at the following settlements:

Throughout the term, the OAAWG worked intensely to engage the authorities in the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights. We have achieved some successes. On 14 May 2008, the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli held a meeting with the OAAWG in Kampung Pos Tenau over several matters affecting the OA living there. After some pressure, we managed to bring about the closure of an illegal fish pond which posed a threat to nearby residents. Several meetings were held with the Perak State Government in June and July 2008 over commercial activities at the OA’s ancestral lands in Kampung Ulu Kampar, Kampung Ulu Geroh and Kampung Serkal. A further meeting was held with the Perak Menteri Besar on 14 July 2008, and the lobbying paid off. On 31 July 2008, the State Government announced that all logging and palm oil plantation activities on the OA ancestral lands would cease with immediate effect. 

On 5 October 2008, the OAAWG’s efforts regarding the Kampung Chang Sungai Gepai struggle paid off when Perak State Executive Councillor A. Sivanesan officially announced the cessation of all commercial activities on OA land, which had been ear-marked for conversion into a botanical garden.

The OAAWG engaged the Perak State Government to establish the inaugural ‘Orang Asli Task Force’ to advise and assist the Government on OA issues. The State Government agreed and the Task Force’s first meeting was held on 7 October 2008. An OAAWG member sits as a legal adviser to the Task Force. The Perak State Government has officially recognised the OA’s ancestral land rights, and now leads the way in seeking to honour the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the normative human rights position for the need to obtain prior, free, full and informed consent before carrying out any activity involving OA lands.

The OAAWG visited Kampung Buluh Nipis, Bandar Muadzam Shah in Pahang on 27 September and again on 23 November 2008 to look into the problems faced by the Jakun tribe living there. Our activities have attracted much attention, and on 20 October 2008 M. Kulasegaran, an MP, delivered a comprehensive policy speech on the plight and marginalisation of the OA. The OAAWG calls on the Bar to undertake concerted efforts to raise awareness of OA issues and to take concrete action to stop the exploitation of the OA. The OAAWG proposes that a resolution be passed at the upcoming Bar AGM on OA rights and an awareness campaign be launched on the OA’s predicament. 

VII. Migrant and Refugee Issues Working Group (MigRefWG) chaired by Renuka Balasubramaniam

One of the MigRefWG’s goals is to create awareness of the rights issues faced by migrants and refugees in the country, which is exacerbated by the demonisation of the ‘outsider’ and media validation of society’s xenophobia. As a start, the MigRefWG decided to take up legal cases, referred by the Labour Resource Centre and Tenaganita, and document them for purposes of advocacy. 

Our other activities have included the following: 

VIII. Freedom of Expression and Media Defence Working Group (FoEWG) chaired by Dipendra Harshad Rai

The FoEWG is primarily responsible for issues pertaining to the freedom of expression and information, and media defence. The FoEWG’s main activity was co-organising, with the Centre for Independent Journalism, the ‘Media Defense Lawyers Training’ programme on 8 July 2008. Funded by the Media Legal Defense Initiative (UK), the training programme was held at the Bar Council Auditorium and aimed to provide a practical approach in defending the media’s freedom of expression. In particular, the programme focused on the following areas:

The programme included discussions on the latest developments in libel law, protection of a journalist’s sources, and strategic tips on challenges that media owners, journalists and bloggers currently face in Malaysia. Resource persons for the programme were Mark Stephens, Robert Balin, Charles Glasser and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar. Some 50 participants comprising lawyers, journalists and civil society activists attended the programme, which was targeted at those with working experience of libel and other laws affecting the media. 

The FoEWG also participated in:

The FoEWG will continue to pursue an agenda of greater openness in this country, noting the importance of the ‘fourth estate’, namely the media, and the need to ensure that the media also performs its task of acting as a credible check and balance to the Government and Opposition, while ensuring the free flow of information to all. 

Conclusion

The Committee this term has nearly become fully ‘self-functioning’,  with the various Working Groups undertaking activities and programmes on their own initiative and in response to what they see are the perceived needs. This has increased and intensified participation and effectiveness greatly. As a collective of human rights lawyers, all members play an equal role in providing direction to, and generating output of, our work. In the past two terms, the Committee has built up a strong community of human rights advocates and activists within the Bar while, at the same time, developing the capacity of others to assist or empower them. In the process, we have learnt much about ourselves and sharpened our legal and advocacy skills, and knowledge. In different ways, these have helped our own legal practice. 

We are honoured that the Committee’s work has been recognised by civil society, as evidenced by our being nominated for the ‘Suaram Human Rights Award 2008’ alongside the Kampung Chang Sungai Gepai OA community, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH), the urban settlers of Kampung Berembang and the Penan community of Ulu Baram, Sarawak. 

Despite the Committee’s dynamic efforts, there is still much to be done. The Committee is frequently approached with requests to collaborate on numerous projects but due to our schedule and resources, we have had to prioritise our work and turn down several proposals. We urge members of the Bar and pupils-in-chambers to join, on an ad hoc or permanent basis, the Committee’s struggle to improve the human rights situation in the country. We also welcome suggestions and feedback regarding our work.

Lastly, it must be said that the momentum this term was built early on with the appointment of the Committee’s current Executive Officer, Chin Oy Sim, whose experience and expertise have allowed the Committee to accomplish all that it has. We are extremely grateful and thank Oy Sim for her dedication, which has been most invaluable.  We also thank Lojini Soomaran for her assistance and logistical support to the Committee.

Dated: 19.1.2009
 

For any enquiries, please email:

oysim@malaysianbar.org.my