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SARAVANABAVAN MATHIALAGAN graduated from Cardiff University in 2005. He completed his Bar Vocational Course from Cardiff University in 2006 and was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 2007. He is currently a partner practicing in Ipoh, Perak and his area of practice is primarily civil litigation. Saravanabavan or Sara as his friends call him, enjoys singing and public speaking. He shared some of his views with Valerie Choo on issues affecting our country and the legal profession. 

 

Honestly, I did not think much of law as a career in my early days. I enrolled myself into the science stream and logically one would have thought that medicine, engineering or accounting would be the course to follow. My father advised me to take up law. He told me that life will be meaningless unless I can make a difference to the people around me. I was inspired by his words of wisdom and Abraham Lincoln was the other reason.   

If it was not law, I would have ended up as an engineer. I enjoy applying formulas and calculations to solve a problem. Having said that, all of us will agree that law is no different. The task of applying legal principles within a framework of facts to reach a certain conclusion is in itself a form of engineering. I find joy in doing that. 

 

I think the preference varies from one individual to the other. The essential question one must ask is what is it that we really want in a career. If we can answer that, a clear path is laid out before us. I commenced my pupilage in Kuala Lumpur and started my practice as a Legal Assistant in a big firm there. Practice in Kuala Lumpur certainly helped me realize my wants, needs and priorities. I was exposed to important briefs with high profile clients and this eventually opened up a lot of opportunities for me to develop and move forward. However, I was not very keen to specialize in one particular area. I wanted to experience different areas and fields before I head into a specific practice.

Therefore, I joined a small firm in Ipoh to experience a different kind of practice and true enough, I was introduced to a new spectrum of practice, a wider scope, not confining my practice narrowly. As for Ipoh itself, it is a lovely place with a laid back work environment in comparison to Kuala Lumpur. Less traffic, good food, more smiling faces, friendly Court staff are among the added attractions in Ipoh. However, for young lawyers who wish to practice in Ipoh, the monetary aspect may be at the downside, but then if you are looking to build a balanced career, it should not matter. End of the day, if our priorities are in order, I am confident we can work effectively in any state, or even anywhere for that matter.  

 

It is very rare for any young individual to find someone whom we can look up to and emulate his or her footsteps, what more in the legal profession. The senior partner in my present firm was my inspiration. Being a long standing sole practitioner, he inspired and encouraged me to take the next step. In his words young lawyers must not wait to be brought forward by the older men. I thought it made perfect sense. Therefore, I joined the partnership and even now I am grateful to have someone of such great stature to guide me through the depths of the legal profession. 

 

This is one profession where we deal with various issues, such as medical, insurance, banking or even nowadays constitutional issues. I really cannot think of any other profession which could offer such varied knowledge in such a short span of time.  Sound knowledge in law enables us to have the confidence to represent another person in Court. We get to learn new things everyday from each different client, accept new challenges and learn to overcome these challenges. People come to us with a problem and we solve it for them. As a lawyer, I take pride in providing these solutions.  

 

Pupilage is the learning curve for all lawyers, it is an opportunity to learn the practical aspects of the legal profession as well as understand the nature of the profession itself. The problem I feel that many of us had when it came to pupilage is that some pupils did the BVC and many did the CLP. Those who did the BVC were not well versed with the practice and procedures of the Malaysian Laws and those who did the CLP seemed to have a hard time articulating their arguments and expressing the same. I strongly feel it will help to have a compulsory Legal Knowledge and Skills sessions during our pupilage period. This will certainly improve the current pupilage system and boost the quality of our lawyers when they are in practice.  

 

I feel the Bar Council is making every attempt to encourage members to participate in Bar activities. The requirement for a pupil to undergo 14 days Legal Aid duty is inadvertently drawing young lawyers into the Bar activities even after the completion of their pupilage.  Additionally, the National Young Lawyers Committee is doing a great job and perhaps they could adopt a more vigorous approach to propagate any organized events in order to have a wider reach among the members. The State Bar Committees should also take the effort to encourage young lawyers and senior lawyers to share their knowledge and experiences, perhaps to write articles, weekly columns and organize talks. We, young lawyers, cherish the opportunity to learn from the senior members of the Bar. Therefore, having these sorts of events periodically will increase the participation from the younger members and senior members alike.  

 

It is indeed a very pertinent issue. One of the many reasons for young lawyers to struggle with practice today is the working conditions i.e. long hours with little pay off, inadequate resources, lack of freedom. In order to address this concern, I strongly feel employers should go a step further to equip the young lawyers with the tools necessary for their survival in the legal profession and at the same time permit their natural growth, provide young lawyers some freedom, appreciate their work, respect their opinions and thoughts. Employers should also look into improving the level of technology in their firms by enhancing the use of internet, telephone and video conferencing which undoubtedly is the order of the day. Above all, we must create an environment where young lawyers will be able to enjoy the work given and understand the long term gains of the profession. This way, we will give our young lawyers a push upwards to bring out the best in themselves and eventually it will benefit the firm and clients. 

 

Congratulations to Ragunath Kesavan. He has promised a lot of change especially in the Bar Council’s duty to act as a proactive pressure group in protecting the interests of the public. I believe he will be able to lead the Bar in a laudable fashion. 

My paramount concern is that certain quarters are challenging the Bar Council’s authority to speak up for the people and to discuss important issues openly. Some even call for the Bar Council to be registered as a political party. These people fail to understand that lawyers are supposed to be the people who should speak up in the interest of upholding the law. This has nothing to do with politics and by any stretch of the imagination cannot be thought so. In fact, if you ask me, it is an attribute that every individual should possess. We walked because we wanted justice to be meted out, we organize the forum “Conversion to Islam” to highlight the plight of families caught in legal disputes resulting from conflicts in the civil and syariah legal systems. The Bar has never questioned any religious stands and it is merely engaging in an effort to create and enhance legal awareness, nothing more and nothing less. The way I see it, Bar Council is heading in the right direction and we should continue to do so regardless of the trials and tribulations.

 

1429 lawyers and 81 chambering students unanimously voted for the resolutions. United we stand, divided we fall. Extraordinary!!!  

First and foremost, bravo to my fellow colleagues who bravely resisted the intimidation lashed out by our beloved men in blue. I agree with Ragu’s description of the incident as a blatant transgression of the rule of law. Even a man on the Kinta Omnibus will know that it is a fundamental liberty and basic human right for an arrested person to be represented. Further, this right is guaranteed in the Federal Constitution itself.

At the EGM, we as legal practitioners gave our support for the protection of this fundamental right and stood up against the police atrocities committed on May 7th. The resolutions passed at the EGM convey a strong message to the government and the authorities concerned, a message which is beyond race, religion and creed. We showed that lawyers will stand up and resist in the face of injustice. I have come across some lawyers, who feel that nothing is going to happen if the Bar Council passes these resolutions. It is true that to a certain extent, the Home Minister and Inspector-General of Police are not perturbed at all. However, we as legal practitioners must understand that it is not so much the outcome we should be concerned about, it is more the struggle and the message that we send as an independent body. Here, perhaps we should be reminded by the words of Lincoln “The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me”.  Period. 

 

Perak is in a mess. If we ask the man on the Kinta Omnibus once again, he will give you the same response. The people of Perak are tired, frustrated and disappointed with the events which have transpired for the past few months. We have one MB for a day and the next day by a Court ruling we have another. On May 7th, when the state legislative assembly was convened, I had to pass four roadblocks to reach my office. At each roadblock, I had to explain why I was taking the route and what my occupation is. I felt as though Perak was under emergency rule. My clerk told me that one policeman suggested to her that we close the office for the day. I cannot help but feel that as time moves on, the political bickering is affecting our day to day business and more importantly the business of running the State Government is at a standstill. Neither side has shown the will or ability to rise above the power squabble. Thus, so many weird events took place in the past few months, state assembly convened under a tree, the emergence of the “tree of democracy”, MB v MB case, speaker being carried out along with the chair and recently the Speaker v Speaker case. I am very surprised the tree is still there.  

Frankly, the Rakyat just want the political impasse to end as soon as possible. Perhaps we should borrow some wisdom from Lincoln on this “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Let the people decide once and for all. 

 

 

The vision of One Malaysia is promising and our PM has been focusing on the right issues from the start of his tenure i.e. unemployment, management of the economy crisis, reduction of crime and national unity. On the other hand, the heavy handed approach demonstrated by the police in the past few months undoubtedly cast a bad reflection upon his administration. Police are widely perceived as being used as tools of the government instead of serving the public. Our PM should look into these shortcomings and urgently take steps to address these concerns. He should be committed to embark on democratic ideas which will win the public trust and confidence such as allowing peaceful assemblies and open debates on issues of public concern.