Contributed by the National Young Lawyers Committee
Called to the Bar in 2002, Muhammad Syamsulfaiz Zainuddin is currently practising in
Kuala Lumpur. Athena Ang interviewed him recently.
Why did you take up law in the university?
Initially I wanted to take up an Arabic language degree but I thought I might
end up working as a teacher. As members of my family are made up mostly of
teachers, I wanted to break away from the tradition. I learnt that if one
studies law, one must also master languages, so I thought I can read law and at
the same time learn the English and Arabic languages so as to reach a higher
level. So the journey went as planned and I got my LLB which was studied in
English and a Shariah degree read in Arabic.
Why did you choose corporate law practice?
The interest developed over time. I find that I enjoy drafting agreements and
dealing with commercial and corporate laws although the nature of work is quite
tedious and challenging. Besides, I have a deep interest in economic and
corporate financing affairs. Another aspect of corporate law practice which
caught my interest was that Malaysian corporate lawyers could expand their legal
career overseas at anytime, considering the similar practice, requirements and
laws in other jurisdiction. In this era of globalization it is good if you have
the knowledge and qualification which enables you to move around and not limit
yourself.
It is said that litigation lawyers are lawyers indeed, and corporate lawyers
are not. Do you agree? Why?
This may be the perception of the general public. But for lawyers to perceive it
like that, is rather shallow to me. There are many areas of legal practice. All
these areas of legal practice require the same level of analytical legal
thinking, skills and strategies used in the court rooms. For example advocacy
skill is needed when you are conducting face to face negotiations with the
counterpart’s lawyers. Evidence is the essence of a due diligence report. A
corporate lawyer still need to keep abreast with the updated case laws and
legislation when preparing a legal opinion or drafting clauses into an
agreement. As a matter of fact there is no separation of practice as a barrister
or a solicitor in Malaysia. A corporate lawyer may have to need to attend court,
if necessary.
It is said that corporate lawyers are more self–centred, and do not pay much
attention to the current happenings, especially politics. Do you agree? Why?
In my opinion, whether a lawyer is self centred or pays attention to the current
affairs is more an issue of a person’s attitude and lifestyle. I do not think it
has any co–relation with the choice of being a corporate lawyer. I think lawyers
who keep him/herself updated with current affairs or politics would gain
advantage in all aspects be it for knowledge, communication skills and
marketing.
As a married man with kids, how do you manage your work–life balance?
I don’t have a life. No, I am kidding. I believe if a person puts effort to it
he/she can achieve it. My life is with the family and friends. Work may get up
to my eyeballs most of the time, but I always remind myself that my
responsibility is not only to my work but also to my family at home and friends
around. I prefer not to bring any work home and as so I fully concentrate on my
work whilst in the office. The balance needs to be kept at 50/50 percentage.
Both parts of life will recharge each other.
Are you actively involved in any other social organisations?
At the moment, no. But I am active in the art and music scene. The music that I
am working on right now is the traditional Malay folklore in the genre of Zapin,
Inang, Asli, Kronchong and Joget. I have a band called Dewangga Sakti which
performs regularly at art events, functions and goes on music tours. For more
information please visit our website
www.dewanggasakti.blogspot.com. I know there are many fellow lawyers who
are talented in music out there. Well, jam on folks. Music is life.
Do you think that we, the Malaysian young lawyers, can learn as much as the
young lawyers in Hong Kong, Singapore and England and Wales, given the facts
that those jurisdictions are regional financial hubs and are developed
countries?
Yes I do. Malaysia is one of the fastest developing nations and we share a great
deal of cross border transactions from developed countries. It is also a fact
that Malaysia is building its reputation as an Islamic financing hub for the
Asian and global market. In my opinion, since Malaysia is in a fast track to be
a developed nation and as such, along the way, the professionals including the
lawyers can learn a lot of know–how in attending to their clients’ work with
foreign parties.
What is your view of the judicial crisis issue?
The wound needs to be healed quickly before it becomes infected. The government
needs the cooperation from lawyers and the “rakyat” in order to restore the
reputation and sanctity of the judicial body. The process needs to be seen to be
done, because in this era of information, people look for, see, read and write
the information about things happening around them and make up their own
judgments and perspectives about that information. Gone is the era where people
just listen to the government’s media for information and update. As a lawyer, I
really need the judicial body to be respected and trusted by the people
including myself.
What is your view on the judgment delivered in the Lina
Joy’s case?
The issue in Lina Joy’s case is very delicate. A Malay’s proverb will say “Di
telan mati emak, di luah mati bapak”. Lina Joy’s case touches the
constitutional foundation of the Malay race itself. If any changes need to be
done, it should go back to the Parliament. It is not for the Courts to change
the foundation so rooted and strong in Malaysia’s institution of Malay and
Islam. If we were simply to follow the Shariah laws, the right answers are
there, but Malaysian laws are different from the Shariah laws.
What kind of young lawyers’ activities you would like to see happening in the
future?
Nothing in particular, I would just like to see young lawyers be more active,
proactive and get as many as t their peers to participate in young lawyers’
activities.
Other YL Personalities:
Ummi Kalthum Bt Zakaria
Mohd Taufik Bin
Md Tahir
Goh Chuan
Chean
Hemalatha
Parasa Ramulu
Kho Yieng San
Ng Li Lin
Karthigesan
a/l Shanmugam
Juna Binti
Jusoh
Syamsuriatina
Ishak
Albert Ding
Choo Earn
Sulaiman Bin
Abu Bakar
Nasdrul Umur
Bin Shamsulhuda
Elaine Daly
Devkumar
Kumaraendran
Sandesh Kabir
Singh
Edelina Sophia
Binti Sophian Pulle
Mohd Busyairy
Bin Che Muda
Wong Fook Meng
Fadiah Nadwa
Fikri
Lee Chooi Peng
Angeline Cheah
Yin Leng
Mishant a/l
Thiruchelvam
Shahrizal Bin
Mohd Zin
Rezalman B.
Bahran
Gavin Tang Cheng
Loong
Noreen Ahmad
Ariff
Nadia Ashikin
binti Maduarin
David Dinesh
Mathew
Nizam Bashir
Bin Abdul Kariem Bashir
Amer Hamzah
Bin Arshad
Ernie
Suffiani Binti Salim
Ahmad Syukri
Bin Yusoff
Dipendra
Harshad Rai
Soo Wee Loon
Tracy Hah
Aminuddin bin
Abdullah