The Malaysian Bar - Young Lawyers Convention 2011: Activism and the Bar – No Time or Can’t be Bothered? (2 July 2011)

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Young Lawyers Convention 2011: Activism and the Bar – No Time or Can’t be Bothered? (2 July 2011)

Monday, 11 July 2011 10:00am

Contributed by Joanne Leong, Member, Bar Council National Young Lawyers Committee

The final session of Day 2 of the Young Lawyers Convention 2011, themed “Activism and the Bar – No Time or Can’t be Bothered?”, kicked off with the moderator, Vince Chong, questioning the two speakers, Sreekant Pillai and Khaizan Sharizad bt Abdul Razak (Sherrie), for their take on the meaning of “activism”.

Sreekant Pillai defined “activism” as to make a change or reform, and elaborated that it did not need to be politically driven. According to him, activism also encompassed social and economic reforms, and he recommended delegates to join Bar Council committees. Khaizan Sharizad echoed Sreekant Pillai’s views and told the audience that activism did not necessarily mean fighting. She viewed activism as doing something proactively in order to achieve the objective. Vince Chong then enquired whether his involvement with the Bar Council National Young Lawyers Committee as its Deputy Chairperson made him an activist, to which Sreekant Pillai replied, “Yes”. Sreekant Pillai commented that there was “a little activism in everyone”, but lawyers had greater responsibility in promoting activism for they knew the law better. Thus, he stressed that lawyers should be at the forefront.

Vince Chong with Khaizan Sharizad and Sreekant Pillai

Vince Chong later asked the speakers to give examples of the activism work they did as prominent activists. Sreekant Pillai began by explaining that he had volunteered his expertise from very early on in his career. He informed the audience that it was never about the glamour, but more of self-satisfaction. When it came to Khaizan Sharizad’s turn, she spoke about her involvement in various Bar Council committees. She highlighted that the most memorable experience for her was directing and producing a documentary about the Perak Crisis in 2009 with her friend.

Commenting that many were unwilling to do activism work due to fear, Vince Chong asked the speakers whether they felt fear when being involved with activism work. Khaizan Sharizad answered in the affirmative, but she held that knowing the objective and cause of the work was sufficient to dissipate the fear. As the microphone was passed on to Sreekant Pillai, the third and final speaker of the session, Edmund Bon, arrived and was briefed on what had been discussed so far and that the current question was regarding fear. Edmund Bon made a quick impact when he delivered the punch line, “If you see your programme and your programme is not against the law, then there will be no fear”.

Edmund Bon, Khaizan Sharizad and Sreekant Pillai on stage

Edmund Bon quickly showed the audience an example of activism by playing the first five minutes of the “Walk for Justice” DVD. Immediately after the short clip, he guided the audience through a presentation and directed them to a particular slide that spelled out section 42 of the Legal Profession Act 1976. He proudly told delegates that Parliament had given lawyers power to act “without fear or favour”. He emphasised that no other profession was given such power and therefore the delegates, as lawyers, should utilise such an advantage.

The moderator and the speakers deep in discussion during the session

Sreekant Pillai added that lawyers should do pro bono work as it was a tradition of the Bar. He explained that although he ran his own practice, he was still actively involved in pro bono work. He mentioned that he also encouraged the lawyers in his firm to be involved in pro bono work. On the issue of time, Sreekant Pillai said that it came from within one’s self; if the lawyer was interested in activism work, he or she would create time for it. Khaizan Sharizad gave her view as an employee as well. She encouraged young lawyers to become involved with activism work, but stressed that it was necessary for them to speak to the employer and/or the partner of the firm first.

A delegate taking part in the question-and-answer session

The session came to an end with young lawyers voicing their views during the question-and-answer session. One participant, Yohendra, commented that activism came in various levels and encouraged participants to start activism with something simple such as tweeting or blogging news related to activism.

As the session drew to a close, Edmund Bon gave a presentation illustrating the many campaigns initiated by Bar Council and other organisations whilst questioning delegates, in a distinctively rousing tone, on the objective of each campaign. Perhaps it was the dimmed hall, or the acoustics employed, but it was a truly inspiring presentation. On this high note, the final session of the Young Lawyers Convention 2011 ended with much pondering and work left for the young participants to do.