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This speech was given at the dinner in honour of the Chief Justice of Malaysia being published as  an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This is indeed a very special occasion.   For we are gathered here today to celebrate Tun Zaki being published an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn.   It is an honour that befits the man upon whom it has been conferred.   He joins the ranks of such eminent persons as Nelson Mandela, Sir Sidney Kentridge, KG Balakrishnan the immediate past Chief Justice of India, Justice Albie Sachs of the South African Constitutional Court, Chief Justice Sian Elias of New Zealand and the Hon Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong of Singapore.  

At this point let me explode a myth.   Tun Zaki was not made a Bencher merely because he comes from Lincoln’s Inn and is the Chief Justice of Malaysia.   That is not the case.  There have been many instances of Chief Justices both from this country and other Commonwealth countries who were called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn and who were never published as Benchers.   It is all done on a case to case basis.  Tun Zaki was elected and published a Bencher because of his sincere effort to improve the justice system and for his contribution to the Alumni.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Strictly speaking, this should have been the fourth in a series of dinners which were planned for my friend Zaki.   When he was elevated directly to the Federal Court, we wanted to have a dinner to celebrate that event.   But while still in the planning stages, he was appointed as President of the Court of Appeal.   That wrecked our plans and we had to return to the drawing board, so to speak, and to re-do the arrangements for another dinner to celebrate that event.   Again, while in the planning stages, he was appointed as Chief Justice which rendered academic the event we had planned.   This time round I told the committee that there would be no more planning until all other honours that must follow have all been conferred.   So we waited until after he had received his Tunship and other honours.   And that includes the one that we presently rejoice in.   Once all the honours were in we said “Right.   Now we finally plan a dinner for him.”  

So, my old and dear friend Zaki, this dinner is really an apologetic expressio to celebrate the various positions to which you were appointed and the several honours conferred upon you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

During Tun Zaki’s short stint as President of the Court of Appeal, we had occasion to work together.   That was indeed a pleasure.   When he became President, the Court of Appeal was in sixes and sevens.   The Registry was a mess with files all over the place.   The registrars and staff worked hard but they lacked the required leadership.   And Zaki provided that missing ingredient to produce a success formula.   He re-organised the registry, working late into the night and on Saturdays.   With the impetus he provided, the staff gave him their everything.  When he left the Court to take up the Chief Justiceship, he left behind a well oiled machine that worked to optimum capacity.   During his stewardship, he gave the senior judges a free hand to deal with the problem of disposing of the pending appeals that had been clogging the registry for the best part of 10 years or more.   Thank you my friend for the support you gave us at a time we needed it the most.

As Chief Justice you have brought credibility to the courts as adjudicators of commercial disputes.   I think it safe to say that gone are the days when a person can set fire to his warehouse and be able to obtain a multimillion judgment against the insurers he had defrauded.   At last, the true owner of land need no longer cling onto his title for fear that he will lose his property through the act of a forger.   And I do not think that we will see the day again when a person can borrow millions of ringgit from a bank and be able, without paying a single sen, not only to get a declaration that he owes nothing, but to also recover damages from the bank for breach of the terms of his own working paper.   And gone also are the days when the word trial was just a word mentioned only in passing.   These illustrations are not works of fiction.   They happened.  The work of the righteous was set at nought and they put under the very sword of Damocles with threats of unwarranted transfers and of being tribunalled.

But I speak of the dark past.   We are now upon broad sunlit uplands.   I merely mention the past so that we may feel grateful for the present.

Tun Zaki, you will go down in history as the first Chief Justice who was able to give litigants the reasonable expectation of having their actions tried within months of commencement and not years or decades.   Whilst many ardently spoke about doing it, you actually rolled up your sleeves went to the ground and actually did something about it.   You will equally be remembered for the making a reality of electronic recording of court proceedings.   Last but not the least, your implementation of the New Commercial Court System in Kuala Lumpur has turned out to be a boon to practitioners at the commercial Bar.   The feedback I have received has all been positive.   Equally effective is the mediation process which you have put in place.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Among Tun Zaki’s other duties is the important job of being President of the Alumni.   But his contribution to the Alumni began long before he came on board the Federal Court.   When we were forming the Alumni, I called upon him to assist us in getting us registered quickly with the Registrar of Societies.   I remember him asking how quickly do you want it done.   I said that we had been advised that it may take several weeks but that we needed it in days because our launch had already been scheduled.   He got us registered in a record time of 3or 4 days.  

After his appointment as a Judge of the Federal Court he mooted the idea of establishing a charitable educational foundation under the umbrella of the Alumni to promote legal education, both here and abroad.   The result of our efforts is the Tun Azmi Foundation of which all the principal office bearers of the Alumni then serving are trustees.   Almost immediately after its establishment, Zaki kick started the foundation with a personal donation of RM105,000. He also raised several hundred thousand ringgit to get the fund going.   As Chairman of the Board of Trustees I am proud to say that since its establishment, the Foundation has made grants to the law faculties of 4 local universities.   In December 2009, we became the first Alumni of Lincoln’s Inn to donate a sum of £10,000 to the Inn to establish a prize for Malaysian students.   We have also donated RM 50,000 to the Inner Temple Alumni for the advancement of legal education.

In achieving all that he has done, Zaki says that he has been guided by one principle.   He alluded to this during an interview by a member of the Alumni:


Ladies and gentlemen,

As the Chief Justice, Tun Zaki has translated into action the constitutional right in every citizen to a speedy trial.   When some of us warned him of the dangers of quantitative justice at the risk of qualitative justice, he responded: “I have a house that is flooded with water.   I have to pump it all out.   Once I have done that I will attend to polishing the brass work.”   But there are some who fear that the time may come where the water cannot be pumped out fully and yet the entire plumbing may have collapsed under strain.

Today, our judicial officers and judges work very hard.   It is commonplace to hear of trials starting at 9 am and going on until 8pm.   But judges and lawyers are human.   If they are pushed beyond endurance, we may have to build a hospital almost as large the courthouse next to it.   While it is important to clear the backlog, it is equally important to ensure that true justice according to law is done.   As justice delayed is justice denied, so too is justice buried when hurried.

Beginning this month, our courts have started sitting at 8.30am.   Even in the dark corner of little information that I sit, I hear news that this is the product of a member of the administration bent on achieving an illusory 3 letter acronym called KPI which among lawyers has become a 4 letter word.  

Well, in my humble view, KPI in judicial terms means hearing cases at a reasonable hour and producing decisions that meet international legal norms.   Perhaps those ignorant of the justice process should be instructed that courts are not factories and our judges are not mechanised automatons.   They should be instructed that our courts are not a government department and our judges are not bureaucratic pen pushers.   It has been the experience of history that interference with the administration of justice will be counter-productive.   It is to be hoped that good sense will prevail in the end and the superior courts will commence their sittings as they used to do, at 10 am and adjourn for the day at 5 pm.

To return to more pleasant things as we should, it is the absolute delight of all members of the Alumni and the legal profession as a whole that our President Tun Zaki has been conferred this rare honour by our Inn.   When as students when we gathered in Hall to dine in term, we watched in awe as the great judges and lawyers of the day came into Hall to dine at High Table.   There was Lord Denning, Lord Parker, Lord Widgery, Mr Justice Megarry (later the Vice Chancellor of the Chancery Division), Lord Russel of Killowen, Mr Quentin Hogg and many more.   The clock has now turned and as the students now pray silent for the Benchers it is you, my Brother Zaki whose turn it will be to walk into Hall to take your seat at High Table and look upon the Utter Bar.

You know, that at one point in time, all the three highest judicial posts in England were held by members of Lincoln’s Inn.   Lord Hailsham was Lord Chancellor, Lord Denning was Master of the Rolls and Lord Widgery was Lord Chief Justice.   We have not done too badly in Malaysia either.   Our Chief Justice is from Lincoln’s Inn and our dynamic CJ Malaya Ariffin is also from Lincoln’s Inn.   However the President of the Court of Appeal is from Inner Temple and the CJ Sabah & Sarawak is from Grays.   Well 2 out of 4 is not bad at all.

Before I conclude in the usual way, I am duty bound to express the gratitude of the Alumni to the several people who are responsible for the success of this event, one of whom is not me.   The credit goes to each and every member of the organising committee though some stand out for special mention.   First our secretary Dato Mary Lim who has worked tirelessly in coordinating today’s event despite her heavy judicial duties.   Next is our Assistant Secretary Silva Velu, who despite a busy practice has admirably filled the shoes of his worthy predecessor Caroline Danker.   Next is our treasurer Mr Soo Thien Ming who, though not tasked with it was responsible for gathering members of the legal fraternity to assemble here in large numbers.   Then of course there is the ubiquitous Bharti Seth who worked ceaselessly in all departments to get this function in order.   Christopher Leong, despite his heavy work schedule has been a great help as always.   Our newly appointed Judicial Commissioner Yang Ariff Mah Weng Kwai must also be mentioned for giving so much of his valuable time and effort to ensure the success of this event.   I must also recognise a new member of the crew, Mr Bell Yap for his valuable contribution.  Despite having his practice in Melaka, he attended meetings more frequently and with greater punctuality than I did.   Last but not the least I must thank our very own Miss Ooi whom we all fondly refer to as Kim.   Her zest for helping out in the activities of the Alumni keeps us all on our toes.   All you have to do is to mention to her that something needs to be done and by the time you get home you will have an e mail with her input.  As I said there are many others, and my not mentioning each of them in no way detracts from the value of their contribution.

With those words, it is my pleasure to call upon all of you to remain seated – in the tradition of Lincoln’s Inn –  to charge your glasses and drink to the health of the latest addition to the Masters of the Bench of Lincoln’s Inn – Tun Zaki Azmi.

Thank You.