Contributed by Baizura Abd Razak, Editor/Writer, and photos by Mohd Fazli Rosman, Administrative Assistant, Bar Council; and Roger Tan, Member of the Bar
The Malaysian Bar Annual Dinner and Dance 2014 was held at the Royal Ballroom of the Palace of the Golden Horses, Selangor on 15 Mar 2014. The guests started arriving as early as 7:00 pm in stunning evening gowns and sharp suits in line with the theme for the night’s event, “Simply Jazz”.
After attending the 68th Annual General Meeting of the Malaysian Bar a few hours earlier, it was the perfect opportunity for everyone to unwind and just enjoy each other’s company. Drink glasses were kept filled and soft chatter permeated the air as guests mingled, and hearty laughter could be heard.
Among the distinguished guests who graced the event with their presence were YAA Tun Arifin b Zakaria, Chief Justice of Malaysia; Chan Sek Keong, former Chief Justice of Singapore; Datuk GBB Nandy @ Gaanesh, President of Sabah Law Association; past Presidents of the Malaysian Bar; and High Court and Court of Appeal Judges.
At 8:30 pm sharp, the emcee, Louis the Maestro addressed everyone in the hall and kick–started the event by introducing the night’s opening gambit by the Malta Sutra Jazz Dancers. Decked in studded– and gold–suits, the performers grooved to a very upbeat jazz jingle.
Moving away from conventional performances, guests were thereafter entertained by Loong Bee, a sand artist who depicted a judge’s life’s journey by creating fluid illustrations with sand. His performance, which was accompanied by music, was projected onto a large screen for everyone to appreciate. Though brief, the performance was a spectacular display of creativity and finesse, and certainly left a deep impression on everyone.
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Following the performances, the returning President of the Malaysian Bar, Christopher Leong took to the stage and warmly greeted the guests. He recounted the previous term’s memorable and challenging episodes and developments, and reiterated his commitment to continue to uphold the cause of justice and the rule of law.
In his words, he was grimly aware that he was the only thing standing between an eight–course Chinese dinner and a few hundred hungry lawyers and guests, and thus kept his address short and bade everyone a pleasant evening ahead.
A few courses into the dinner, at approximately 9:40 pm, V L Kandan delivered the
citation (penned by V C George) for Mahadev Shankar, the deserving recipient of the Malaysian Bar Lifetime Achievement Award 2014. This award was instituted in 2011 to recognise past or present Members of the Malaysian Bar for their outstanding contributions to the Bar. When Mahadev Shankar took to the stage to receive the award from Christopher Leong, the Royal Ballroom was silent with a sense of awe. Mahadev Shankar’s acceptance speech was more than just words put together; it served as a reminder of how times have changed and that those who realised this, should act accordingly. He received a standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech.
The night continued with the presentation of the Sports Personality of the Year Award by Anand Ponnudurai, Co–Chairperson of the Bar Council Sports Committee. The
four recipients for 2014, who each received the signature jacket and a certificate, were Christina Knew Lit Fong, Purshotamdas Nathermal Thadani (“Kiko”), Mark Talalla and Robert Low Choon Chong.As dinner resumed, guests were entertained by Shareen Ramli, a wonderful singer whose strong vocals serenaded the guests with classic songs, such as “Unforgettable”, “Girl from Ipanema” and “Besame Mucho”, to name a few.
It was well into the night when the lucky draw session started. Assisted by the spouses of the President and Vice–President of the Malaysian Bar (Steven Thiru), prizes for the draw ranged from a Lenovo mobile phone to vouchers for overnight stays at selected hotels to the grand prize, an eight–day, six–night ground travel package to Europe for two.
The dinner and dance ended with voice impersonations by the emcee who did a fair job at impersonating Michael Jackson, P Ramlee, Tun Mahathir Mohamad and Elvis Presley. Louis the Maestro also belted out several tunes in various languages, such as Tamil, Hindi, Bahasa Malaysia and English.
The dinner and dance would not have been possible without the tireless commitment of the Organising Committee, which was led by Richard Wee Thiam Seng, Secretary of the Malaysian Bar. The Bar Council records its thanks to the Secretary and the members of the Organising Committee — Anne Andrew, Lily Aw, Rajen Devaraj, Sangheetha Kuppusamy and Suriati Dalilan — for a successful and an enjoyable dinner and dance.