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My deepest condolences to my friend Khoo Eng Chin.
He had always been looked upon as a real gentleman.
He had always been very humble and unassuming.

He had been an excellent Chairman of the Inquiry Committee looking into disciplinary matters at the material time, when I was one of his members then.

He was also a conscientious member of the Disciplinary Board until he decided not to be re-appointed.

His passing on is certainly a great loss to the Malaysian Bar.

Yang Pei Keng

The late Mr Khoo Eng Chin was also the chairman of the Selangor Bar (long before the creation of the Kuala Lumpur Bar).

R R Sethu

I was just a first year lawyer when I was asked to go to the Supreme Court to argue an appeal. My firm was acting for an insurance company which issued a fire policy to the Respondent. The fire policy had a provision whereby any dispute had to be referred to arbitration within a certain period of time. The Respondent did not do so within time and it applied to the High Court for an extension of time. Mr Khoo Eng Chin acted for the Respondent.

My senior argued the case in the High Court. He lost. On appeal, suddenly I was asked to appear. And I was just in my first year of practice! I went through the record of appeal and really, there was no ground to appeal. My client lulled the Respondent into deep sleep with negotiations after negotiations just to make sure the arbitration period lapsed!

I was sure we would lose. However, after thinking about the case, I found only ONE legal issue. The Respondent had assigned the policy absolutely to some Banks. Surely the Respondent had no locus standi as it was an absolute assignment.

Alas, that issue was never raised at all in the High Court by my senior. Those days, a notice would be sent to every firm by the Court to inform us who the coram will be. This was of course before the time anybody would make attempts to bribe the Judges. When I received the notice and read it, I almost died! The coram consisted of Abdul Hamid CJ, George Seah SCJ and the great Eusoffee Abdool Cadeer SCJ! I trembled in my pants just reading their names. I could not sleep for the period after receiving that notice and the day of the hearing.

I was sure Counsel on the other side would object against my raising the only issue available to me.

The hearing was in Penang. Eusofee was busy scolding every lawyer who appeared before my turn. I was petrified. I was sure he was going to scold me for raising an issue which was not brought up at first instance.

When my appeal was called up, Eusoffee thundered at me and asked me what issue I had to raise. I stammered and told the Court of my only issue. Eusoffee thundered again telling me that that issue was never raised at first instance.

My Khoo Eng Chin, whom I had never met before that, stood up. He looked at me and signalled for me to sit down. I sat down. He then told the Court that he had absolutely no objection to me raising that issue. After all, he said, we were there to seek justice.

That was the Khoo Eng Chin that I knew. That was the Khoo Eng Chin who was my teacher. I learned a lesson which I practised for the whole of my career till now. The lesson is: justice is more important than mere technical objections.

I held Mr Khoo Eng Chin in high esteem throughout my career. And I of course had the pleasure of knowing his son, Andrew, who became a dear friend.

Thank you Mr Khoo Eng Chin for THAT moment. For THAT lesson. May God bless your soul and may you rest in peace.

My deepest condolences from my heart to Andrew and family.

Azhar B Azizan @ Harun

Dear all,

I was very sad to learn of Eng Chin's passing away and regret not being able to attend his funeral because I had to attend a hearing in the Federal Court on 14th July.

I remember him well from having been in the Bar Council with him where he was a hardworking member. He was immensely popular in Council and very urbane, well-informed and vocal and distinguished himself by keeping out of petty politicking. Being a badminton fan who remembers the Thomas Cup teams of the 1950s and 1960s, I was in awe of him as I remember him being a national player. I always felt a great comfort to be in the same Bar Council committees with him as he was always so helpful in keeping me abreast of Bar Council policies (for which he seemed to have a phenomenal memory) without ever being patronising or condescending to me, a young and somewhat impetuous new member.

My thoughts are with his family as well as with Eng Chin.

Regds,
Chew Swee Yoke

The passing of a member of the Bar tells all that life is so transient.

So, in all squabbles, please allow ourselves to attempt to lessen all pains.

Pains will come and fall like rains; but it is only for our Great God to explain.

May we extend our deepest condolences to his family during their time of bereavement - on Christ the solid rock we stand, everything else is sinking sand!

Tan Peek Guat

I knew Mr Khoo Eng Chin quite well.

If I remember correctly, he was on the panel for the "viva" exams held by the Bar Council when I applied for admission to the Malaysian Bar in 1971.

(Despite being a Barrister-at-Law, we had to satisfy the Bar Council that we knew the basics of procedure and that we could speak English!)

Since then, I have known Mr Khoo Eng Chin as a leading member of the Bar and as a friend at the Bar who always showed courtesy and candour.

My deepest condolences to his beloved wife and children.

A. Kanesalingam

Testimonies like those given for the late Mr Khoo Eng Chin are rare in current times. It is understandably so. The world is changing rapidly and so human values taught by our elderly folks, that take a long time to horne and that distinguish one's character and qualities from another, are given less importance. It was refreshing to read the testimonies.

A few days ago, a fellow lawyer sent me an email called "The Demise of Mr Common Sense". I am unsure if the article is already in the Malaysian Bar's website. I thought that it would be appropriate to reproduce the article here.

London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing."


The article reminded me of the "old school" from where Mr Common Sense must have come from. Yes, I was an impressionable young boy and the "old school" was my mentor. Although that "old school" is less heard of or seen these days, it is refreshing to read about it in the human example of the late Mr Khoo. So, in a simple way, I share this article for the reading pleasure of fellow members of the "old school".

Tan Cheng Siong