Yang Amat Arif Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Raus Bin Sharif;
Judges of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court;
Honourable Judges from various jurisdictions;
Brendonn Soh, President of the Sabah Law Association;
Leonard Shim, President of the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak;
HR Dipendra, my Co–Chairperson of IMLC 2016 Organising Committee;
Your Excellencies, High Commissioners and Ambassadors;
Distinguished Guests, Speakers & Moderators;
Members of the Bar; and
Ladies and Gentlemen.
After Tan Sri Raus finished his speech, I mentally went PHEW! I felt a ton lifted from my shoulders! The conference is drawing to a close, and what a conference it was.
As Tan Sri Raus has given us a wonderful summary of the events over the last 3 days, I shall say no more about it.
Dipen and I would like to thank our committee, and a few key persons from the Bar’s Secretariat.
But before I get there, may I first thank our MCs Charlaine and Roshan – fellow Middle Templars. Fab job, you two.
From the Secretariat, let me first thank the superb Anne. She was invaluable in coordinating the VIPs, and finding us our entertainers.
Then there is Lily. She made sure that we were on the straight and narrow, finance–wise. I remember we heaved a sigh of relief once we were in the black!
We also have the excellent Santhi, Erin and their gang who identified sponsors, and they helped make this conference possible.
If you were a moderator or speaker at this conference, Sumi, Afifah and her team would have been in touch with you.
We owe a huge ‘thank you’ to our wordsmiths, Oysim, Joanne, Anneliz and their team. They did a superb job with our publications, from laying out the programme, preparing the circulars and programme previews, to corralling our volunteer reporters for the colourful IMLC Newspaper.
Over the 6 months, Dipen and I would wait with bated breath at each meeting for Suriati and her team to update us on the latest registration figures for our delegates. Thank you for being so efficient.
I know I have not mentioned everyone at the Secretariat, but all your efforts are very much appreciated. This conference would not have gone so smoothly without you.
Of course, the General overseeing this mammoth task is no other than Rajen Devaraj. Where are you, Rajen? Please take a bow. He is ever so cool and calm. You have done a super job again, Rajen. Thanks for organising us.
I haven’t forgotten you, Dipen. Saving the best for last, as the song goes! You were the rock. You worked tirelessly reaching out to speakers and sponsors alike. So often, you stepped in when I was not available. You deserve a huge round of applause for your hard work, Dipen!
Dipen and I would also like to thank all our sponsors, big and small. Do continue to support us at the next IMLC!
In closing, I am proud to say that at this International Malaysian Law Conference, the Bar has tried its utmost to practice what it preaches: embrace diversity; and put into action equality and non–discrimination.
This conference has a few ‘firsts’.
We have the first person with disabilities speak at the IMLC. Dr Farouk Musa from the Islamic Renaissance Front, was part of the exciting ‘Hardtalk’ session yesterday, moderated by our own Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
The Malaysian Bar is made up of more than 50% women lawyers. Dipen and I made conscious efforts to ensure that we minimised the number of men–only panels.
I am happy to say that 50% of our speakers were women, and 39% of our moderators were women.
We had the first woman delivering the Raja Aziz Addruse Memorial Lecture on Wednesday. For those of you who heard Ms Zainah Anwar speak, you know how brave it was for her to stand here and talk about her personal journey in searching for common grounds – reconciling Islam and human rights.
And from this first woman Co–Chairperson of the IMLC, I wish you a safe journey home, have a great weekend, and see you at IMLC 2018!
Thank you.