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Young lawyers are the future of the Malaysian Bar;their fearless conviction for what is right, fair and just simultaneously benefiting the nation as a whole.

THEODORE Roosevelt once said: “… the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic, the man who actually does the work, even if wrongly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or wishes about how it ought to be done.”

In a similar vein, Mahatma Ghandi has this to say: “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems!”

The legal profession has long been regarded as a noble profession, yet nobility without the realisation and attainment of its true virtues is merely a pious word.

The Bar’s virtue must lie not in the sense of being elitist but in making use of the opportunities given to it to touch lives and to speak out for the weak and underprivileged.

Whether therefore the legal profession stays noble and respected or not depends on what the members of the profession do and how they conduct themselves.

The legal profession is also a profession in which the nature of its calling requires the profession to be constantly engaged in controversy and contention.

This may cause the Bar to be unpopular with the authorities or the powers that be, but it must not shirk its responsibility to do what is right.

In this regard, the Malaysian Bar is constantly mindful of its statutory objective to uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interest, or that of its members uninfluenced by fear or favour.

The Malaysian Bar recognises and acknowledges the fact that society looks up to the Bar to be at the forefront, the navigator, the visionary and even architect to build all that is good for society and the nation.

The members of the Malay­sian Bar, past and present, have not shirked from this onerous task.

The history of the Malaysian Bar is replete with many instances when the Bar has stood alone fearlessly and with conviction for what is right and just.

The Bar’s strong stand during the 1988 judicial crisis and its constant consistent calls and campaigns for the repeal of oppressive laws like the preventive detention laws, the Sedition Act, the Printing and Publications Act, etc, are instances of this.

More recently, it has walked for justice which was instrumental in leading to the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam tapes.

The Bar was also at the forefront in seeking the formation of an Independent Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).

Although the final structure of the JAC can be criticised, the Bar recognises that it must be given a chance and to this end, we hope that the JAC will not fail the people of Malaysia.

The Bar continues to call for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Com­mission of Inquiry on the Police Force.

The plight and marginalisation of the minority communities in Malaysia such as the orang asli continue to command the attention of the Malaysian Bar.

The road ahead is long and narrow, filled with many barriers, burdens, challenges and unfinished tasks.

Members of the Malaysian Bar must answer the call to serve. The challenge constantly is to find sufficient members who have the necessary resolve, dedication and resilience to relentlessly meet these challenges.

This is where the clarion call to the young members of the Bar must be made.

Young lawyers are the future of the profession and the Bar.

The multi-faceted challenges in the Malaysian Bar’s struggles and the task of attaining the ideals of the noble profession are laid squarely on the shoulders of the bright, enthusiastic and enterprising shoulders of the young lawyers.

It is in recognition of this that the National Young Lawyers Commit-tee (NYLC) was initiated by the Malaysian Bar.

Through NYLC, the energies and convictions of young lawyers will be harnessed for the common good of the profession and the Bar simultaneously benefiting the nation as a whole.

In response, each young mem-ber of the Malaysian Bar may ask: What can I do? How can I contribute? Would what I do make any difference?

Let me answer these questions with two stories.

There is an old story of a great war horse going down the road when he came upon a small sparrow, lying on its back in the middle of the road, with its legs sticking up in the air.

“What do you think you are doing?” asked the war horse, arrogantly.

Replied the sparrow: “I heard that the sky was going to fall today.”

The war horse snorted in response, “And you think you’re going to hold up the sky with your puny little legs pointing skyward?”

Answered the sparrow, “One does what one can.”

A story was also told of this man who was walking along a beach in Mexico.

He saw a native boy walking on the beach. As the tide came in, tens of thousands of starfish were swept onto the shore – dried out and dying.

The boy proceeded to pick up a starfish, walked out to the sea and threw it out to the sea.

The man approached the boy, shook his head and told him: “I really don’t think what you are doing would make any difference. There are so many of these starfish around!”

The boy didn’t answer him. He took one more starfish and threw it out to the sea. As he threw it, he said: “I bet it made a difference to that one.”

That is what it is all about. We can’t solve all the issues that afflict society today. But we can do whatever we can.

We may not do something big but we are not all called to do something big.

We are only called to do something.

In a world where things are seriously deteriorating – where human rights and dignity are ignored, where prejudice is rampant, where the weak and powerless are oppressed and where the corrupt and powerful seemingly reign, today’s young lawyer may feel like he or she can’t do much.

But remember that each one of us, though only one, is capable of doing something; and indeed that something each one of us must do.

Be steadfast in doing what is good and what is right.

All of us have something to contribute. If each one of us does our part, and continues to do so, together we can make a difference.

> The writer is chairman of the Bar Council’s National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC). Putik Lada, or pepper buds in Malay, captures the spirit and intention of this column: a platform for young lawyers to articulate their views and aspirations about the law, justice and a civil society. For more information about the young lawyers, please visit www.malaysianbar.org.my/nylc