 Reference: Penang High Court 13 Mar 2009A reference to the death of the late Mr. Justice Tan Sri Chang Min Tat, held in the High Court in a Ceremonial Sitting at Georgetown, Pulau Pinang at 10.30 in the morning on March 13, 2009 The proceedings were presided by the Honourable the Managing Judge High Court Penang, Dato’ Zakaria bin Sam, together with him on the Bench, Honourable Justice Dato’ Hj Abd Halim bin Aman, Mr. Justice John Louis O’Hara and Mr. Judicial Commissioner Tuan Yaacob bin Hj. Md. Sam. Also present in court were the Senior Federal Counsel Attorney General’s Chambers, Mr. Amarjeet Singh a/l Serjit Singh, the Bar Council Representative, Mr. Mureli Navaratnam and the Penang Bar Representative Dato’ K. Kumaraendran. The Registrar, Senior Assistant Registrar, and some of the Registry staff were also present. The late Justice Tan Sri Chang Min Tat’s widow, Puan Sri Grace was present together with her children. The Penang Bar Representative Dato’ K. Kumaraendran paid tribute with the following words:
“Yang Arif - Yang Arif,
May it please your Lordships, we are gathered here this morning on this solemn occasion to honour and pay tribute to the life of the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat, a retired Judge of the Federal Court of Malaya and a member of the Penang Bar. I have been asked to say a few words on behalf of the Penang Bar in this reference for the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat.
Tan Sri was born on 2nd April 1916 in Ipoh and was the 4th son of Chang Yin Fatt, tin miner, philanthropist and founder president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Perak. Tan Sri studied at St. Michael’s Institution Ipoh and in 1936 was awarded a scholarship to Raffles College, Singapore where he offered English, Geography and Mathematics. He obtained a 2nd Class Diploma in Arts in 1939 and a Diploma of Education in 1940. Thereafter he taught at the St. Xavier’s Institution in Penang.
Tan Sri Chang Min Tat was a keen sportsman, whereby he played cricket, rugby and hockey teams while at Raffles College. As a school master, his enthusiasm for sports never did wane. He initiated the formation and running of a combined schools rugby team and the Penang Schools Cricket XI and played an active role in it.
In 1950, he was appointed a member of the Malayan Government Delegation to observe and report on the general elections in England and local government elections in Ceylon. In the same year, he was admitted to Exeter College, Oxford University and read in the Honour School of English Language and Literature. At the same time, he also had enrolled for law at the Inner Temple, London. Tan Sri obtained his Hons. BA Degree, in 1952. Tan Sri was called to the English Bar by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in 1953.
On returning to Penang, he joined the law firm of Lim, Lim and Oon and was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1954. Tan Sri then ventured into practice as a sole proprietor and later in partnership as Messrs. Chang & Vello. On 25th June 1966, Tan Sri was elevated as Judge of High Court of Malaya and was posted to Ipoh. Tan Sri was subsequently posted back to Penang where as the resident judge he had the honour to receive Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II of England and Prince Philip on the Occasion of their visit to Penang.
In 1974, Tan Sri had the honour of being the Presiding Judge on the admission to the Bar of our very first Prime Minister, the late Right Honourable Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. Tan Sri was then posted to Kuala Lumpur, and upon being conferred the title ‘Tan Sri’ in 1978, he was elevated to the Federal Court. Tan Sri Chang Min Tat retired in 1981 but remained in Kuala Lumpur upon being appointed as a Commissioner Of Law Reform.
He finally retired and returned to Penang in 1986 where he served as Commissioner investigating the derailment in Johore in 1987 and a Chairman of the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal, Butterworth in July 1988.Tan Sri passed away peacefully on 27th September 2007.
As a practicing member of the Bar over the last 38 years, I remember Tan Sri Chang Min Tat well. I had the honour of being admitted as Advocate and Solicitor to the High Court in May 1970 before his Lordship and I recall vividly that he had nothing but sound of advice and guidance for me as a young practitioner beginning the arduous journey of a law practitioner.
In fact, Tan Sri always displayed a willingness to offer advice and assistance to young barristers and never failed to remind them of their rightful and noble duty as officers of the Court. I can recall the times when I used to first appear before his Lordship and I would often tremble not knowing what was to come but his Lordship was ever ready with words of encouragement and constantly advised us to persevere with diligence.
With your Lordships’ permission, I would like to relate a memorable experience when I appeared before Tan Sri, Tan Sri had always given priority to Habeas Corpus applications as he believed in giving his full judicial attention to the liberty of an individual. I remember clearly the days events when I had filed such an application for Habeas Corpus together with Mr. Karpal Singh. It was filed on a Friday and Justice Tan Sri immediately instructed for the matter to be heard on Saturday as back then Courts were functioning on Saturdays. However, our then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Ismail had passed away and all government offices were closed on Saturday. Realizing the importance and urgency of the matter before him, Justice Chang Min Tat instructed the Courts to be open on Sunday and instructed the clerks to be present and he heard our application. And he eventually allowed it.
Such was his dedication in upholding and serving the demands of Justice.
The qualities and dedication of Tan Sri brings a quote of Socrates to mind, ‘Four things belong to a Judge: To hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and decide impartially”. To find a combination of all the four qualities in a single individual is, truly, a rarity. But the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat was indeed this rare Judge who had all these four qualities, which made him truly a great Judge.
It may come as a surprise to your Lordships to know that it was Justice Tan Sri who true to his love of sports first initiated the Penang and Perak Bench and Bar games to nurture and foster the relationship between the Bench and the Bar of both states. Tan Sri being a keen and avid cricketer had captained the Penang Bar on several occasions. As you all know the Penang and Perak Games are held annually till this day albeit with a slight change, that is that the Bench no longer, participates.
Tireless and meticulous, firm, impartial, fair and unfailingly courteous, Tan Sri Chang Min Tat embodied all the above in a day when there was no division between senior and junior, or Bench and Bar and under his guidance and impartiality, he built the Court into an institution which enjoyed the confidence of both the Bench and the Bar. The late Justice Tan Sri Chang Min Tat left the world a better place for having been with us. We are happy, grateful and honoured to have known him.
To his family, who are all here today, I on behalf of the Penang Bar, offer our deepest condolence and may I move My Lords, that the record of the proceedings be preserved in the archives of this Honourable Court and a copy there of be sent to Puan Sri Tan and her family”.
The Senior Federal Counsel, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Mr. Amarjeet Singh A/L Serjit Singh in his address had the following to say:
“May it please you My Lords,
I rise today on behalf of the Honourable Attorney General, the Honourable Solicitor Generals and my colleagues from the Judicial and Legal Service to honour the memory of the late Tan Sri Justice Chang Min Tat, The Honourable Attorney General extends his apologies for not being able to participate in this morning’s proceedings due to other pressing engagements.
My Lords, the occasion this morning reminds us of how fleeting human life is in the face of the relentless march of time. It is with a profound sense of sadness we gather in this honourable court today to pay tribute and to remember the memory of one of Malaysia’s great sons. After hearing the glowing reminiscences of my learned friends I feel the loss of not having the good fortune of making Tan Sri’s acquaintance.
Tan Sri’s scholastic achievements are impressive and enviable - a ‘la sallian’ education, a degree from Raffles College, a Masters degree from Oxford University and an enrolment as a barrister of the Inner Temple.
And if that were not enough, after 12 years of practice at the Bar, Tan Sri was elevated to the Bench where he further distinguished himself as a judge of High Court and later as a judge of the Federal Court.
Tan Sri was best known for his honestly, integrity and independence. He had all the qualities that are required of a great judge. His judgments grounded on common sense and sound legal principles were well written and above all made for easy reading.
Tan Sri’s patience as a judge, always affording parties before him a good hearing was noteworthy. In an article dated 28.7.2007 in The Star, retired Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Datuk Shaik Daud Ismail had this to say about Tan Sri –
‘He always gave everybody a good hearing. That was important for us DPPs and lawyers - it didn’t matter what the judgment was in the end as long as we got a good hearing.’
Tan Sri’s landmark judgments cut across various disciplines of law and earned him the distinction of being a legal luminary. His judgments also show that he placed importance on substance rather than form. True to his steadfast belief in the rule of law and justice. Tan Sri stayed the course, doing what he had to do and saw things through.
Notable are that Tan Sri Chang Min Tat presided over Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj’s admission to the Malaysian Bar in 1974 after the former Prime Minister left office and the Wong Swee Chin @ ‘Botak Chin’ case. Be it prince or hoodlum all those who appeared before him were accorded equal treatment.
Contrary to the jest that retired judges lose their appeal, Tan Sri Chang Min Tat rose to even greater heights post retirement. The Attorney General’s Chambers were indeed fortunate to have Tan Sri as Commissioner of Law Revision and Law Reform. The then Attorney General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman saluted Tan Sri’s work as having ‘contributed tremendously to the development of law in this country.’
Tan Sri continued to preside over appeals as Chairman of the Town Planning Appeals Board for Penang and Seberang Prai. Even after he retired and returned to Penang Tan Sri heeded the nations call. He served as Commissioner investigating the train derailment in Johore in 1987 and later as Chairman of the Royal Commission in to the ferry terminal tragedy in 1988. My Lords, such was the measure of Tan Sri’s desire to serve the common good. His continuous service to this country is his legacy and mark in this transient world.
With these words, My Lords, on behalf of the Honourable Attorney General, the Honourable Solicitor Generals and my colleagues from the Judicial and Legal Service, I extend our heartfelt condolences to Puan Sri Grace and family. I also join my learned friends in moving that a record of this morning’s proceedings be kept in the archives of this honourable court and copy be extended to Tan Sri Justice Chang Min Tat’s family.”
Mr. Mureli Navaratnam, on behalf of the Bar Council then rose and paid the following tribute:
“May It Please Your Lordships,
On this solemn occasion I rise on behalf of the Bar Council and Malaysian Bar to pay tribute to the memory of the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat, who was a well-known and deeply respected doyen of the Penang Bar.
My learned friend, Dato’ Kumaraendran has already informed the Court of the vast and varied achievements of the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat throughout his illustrious career.
I would now like to read something which Tan Sri said during the occasion of his elevation to the Bench on 25th June 1966. After the respective speeches of the then Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir bin Yusof and Mr. R. R. Chelliah the Chairman of the Bar Council (who were both his personal friends), Tan Sri Chang informed those present that throughout his judicial career he proposed to remember the following words of Crampton J. (R. v. O’Connell (1844) 7 Ir. L.R. at 313 cited by R. M Megarry in his “Miscellany-at-law”) who in describing the duties of an advocates said:
‘This court in which we sit is a temple of justice and the advocates at the Bar as well as the judge upon the Bench are equally ministers in that temple. The object of all equally should be the attainment of justice, now justice is only to be reached through the ascertainment of the truth and the instrument which our law presents to us for the ascertainment of the truth or falsehood of a criminous charge is the trial by jury, the trial is the process by which we endeavour to find out the truth’. (end quote)
Tan Sri Chang continued as follows:
‘I pause here to say that these words apply equally to a civil trial. I now continue in the words of Crampton J. ‘Slow and laborious, and perplexed and doubtful in its issue that pursuit often proves but we are all – judges, jurors, advocates and attorneys- – together concerned in this search for truth, the pursuit is a noble one and those are honoured who are the instruments engaged in it. The infirmity of human nature and the strength of human passion may lead us to take false views and sometimes to embarrass and retard rather than to assist in attaining the great object, the temperament the imagination and the feelings may al mislead us in the chase – but let us never forget our high vocation as ministers of justice and interpreters of the law: let us never forget that the advancement of justice and the ascertainment of truth are higher objects and nobler results than any which in this place we can propose to ourselves. Let us never forget the maxim that we should not do evil that good may come of it. I would say to the Advocate upon this subject let your zeal be as warm as your heart’s blood but let it be tempered with discretion and with self respect: let your independence be firm; uncompromising, but let it be chastened by personal humility, let your love of liberty amount to a passion but let it not appear to be a cloak for maliciousness.’ (end quote)
And to sum it up Tan Sri Chang said:
‘….As I said ladies and gentlemen, I propose to remember these words in my career on the Bench’.
The Penang Bar had the privilege of inviting Tan Sri Chang to a social event organized for young members of the Bar and chambering pupils in June 2005. Tan Sri Chang shared his most cherished and memorable moments, from both the Bar and Bench with al of us and it was indeed an honor having him at the event.
It is a privilege to be part of this Reference for a distinguished yet humble gentleman like Tan Sri Chang Min Tat who rose through the ranks from being a member of the Bar before being promoted to the Bench and finally retiring when he was a Judge of the nation’s apex Court.
We mourn the loss of Tan Sri Chang Min Tat and on behalf of the Bar Council and Malaysian Bar. I express our sincere condolences to Puan Sri Grace Chang, their 2 children James and Dorothy and their families and friends. May we all pray that his soul rests in peace.
Lastly, may I ask your Lordships to direct that a Record of this Reference be kept in the Archives of the Court and a copy sent to Tan Sri Chang’s family.”
The Honourable Managing Judge High Court Penang, Dato, Zakaria bin Sam said:-
“Mr Amarjeet Singh from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Mr Murali Navaratnam from the Bar Council, Dato’ Kumaraendran from the Penang’s Bar, Puan Sri Grace Chang, Members of the Bar, ladies and gentlemen,
Our Chief Judge and Chief Justice have asked me to convey their sincere apologies for being unable to be present at this reference. Although they would like to, their busy schedule prevents them from being here today.
Today we gather together as companions of the law to pay tribute to one of our number who has gone before us and entered into a better place and world, the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat. The late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat passed away on 27th September 2007. It has been impossible to listen to what has been said this morning without feelings of the most profound admiration and emotion.
I do not wish to indulge in repetition and there is no need to add anything to what has already been said so well by the Federal Counsel, Bar Council and the State’s Bar Chairman as to the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat’s professional career, or his distinguished public services. Let me also say that the huge gathering here this morning is ample testimony to what had been said about him.
It is abundantly clear that the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat had led a full and fulfilling life as a person, sport enthusiast, lawyer and a judge. Perhaps I can safely say that the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat had virtually reached a lofty height of his own, and could therefore be considered to have departed from this world with the fullest sense of achievement within the objectives of his lifetime ambition.
Having heard the very eloquent and moving tributes paid to the late Tan Sri Chang Min Tat, my brother judges and I would like to associates ourselves with those tributes. We could not have said it better. I know that some members of the late Tan Sri’s family are able to be with us today. Our hearts goes out in sympathy to his family that he leaves behind.
Pepatah Melayu ada mengatakan harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama. Tetapi Mendiang Tan Sri Chang Min Tat bukan sahaja meninggalkan nama, malah meninggalkan nama yang cemerlang.
To conclude, we mourn today the passing of this exemplary servant of the law and very fine person.
On that note, may I conclude by directing that a record of this morning’s proceedings be preserved in the archives of this Court and that a copy be sent to Puan Sri Chang and the family.
The court will now adjourn out of respect for the memory of the late Justice Tan Sri Chang Min Tat.
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