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Article and photos contributed by Sumitra Penesar, Officer, Professional Standards and Development Committee

On 13 October 2009, the Professional Standards and Development Committee (PSDC) conducted a seminar entitled ‘Expectations of the Malaysian Bar’, at the invitation of Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Law.  The seminar, held at the Faculty’s Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium in conjunction with its “Colloquium on Contemporary Legal Issues in Malaysia”, was attended by about 250 third- and final-year students and members of the faculty.

The seminar is the latest in the ‘Expectations of the Malaysian Bar’ series that the PSDC has conducted this year in its efforts to bridge the gap between the Bar and law students.  It has been a forum for PSDC members to engage with future entrants to the Bar to highlight the various challenges that they will face as practising lawyers in Malaysia.  The PSDC team has thus far conducted seminars at University Kebangsaan Malaysia, HELP University College and University Teknologi MARA.

In opening the seminar, PSDC Co-Chairperson Steven Thiruneelakandan spoke on the importance of ethics and ethical values at the Bar.  He addressed the declining standards in the profession and the qualities expected of those who aspire to be a member of the Bar. 

The next speaker was Hendon Mohamed, PSDC Deputy Chairperson and a former President of the Malaysian Bar.  She spoke on ‘The Role of the Malaysian Bar:  Objectives and Achievements’ and highlighted the deteriorating values amongst lawyers today.  She also emphasised the importance of language and communication skills, which are critical skills that all lawyers must possess.


PSDC member Jeremiah Gurusamy then shared his views on ‘The Practice of a Corporate Lawyer’.  He said that being a corporate lawyer involves a wide range of drafting that generally begins with legal and regulatory issues, and discussed why legal research is a vital factor in drafting.  He also spoke about how pupils should choose law firms for pupillage purposes, and emphasised the importance of obtaining a well-rounded training during pupillage.



Following that, Brendan Navin Siva, PSDC Co-Chairperson and a member of the Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee, spoke on ‘The Human Rights Experience of the Malaysian Bar’.  Brendan shed light on how the Human Rights Committee advocates the interest of those whose rights have been violated and how lawyers are in a unique position to assist society.  He also pointed out that human rights is very wide and covers many principles such as the right to healthcare, right to education and gender equality, just to name a few.

The final speaker was Ravindran Nekoo, a PSDC member and the Deputy Chairperson of the National Legal Aid Committee.  He spoke on ‘The Malaysian Bar’s Legal Aid Scheme’.  He pointed out that the legal aid system provides assistance to the impecunious in areas such as criminal law, labour law, family law and consumer complaints.  He further continued that legal aid centres not only assist those in need of legal aid but are also heavily involved in law reform efforts.


During the ensuing question-and-answer session, the students participated eagerly and expressed keen interest in the topics discussed.  Some of them wanted to know whether the Malaysian Bar plays any role, in terms of human rights, at the international level, and whether the problems as regards quality were peculiar to local students.


In all, the seminar was a notable success.  Sujata Balan, a University Malaya law lecturer who organised the seminar, had this to say:


We look forward to another productive and thought-provoking session when the series continues at Taylor’s University College.