Contributed by Liew Kok Heng. Writer / Editor, Bar Council Secretariat; photos by Manoj Kumar Rajendra, Administrative Assistant, Bar Council Secretariat; and James Lew, Photographer
On 3 Dec 2022, a cheque presentation ceremony to several charitable organisations and the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre — as part of sales proceeds from the first edition of V C George’s (past President of the Malaysian Bar (1974–1976) and former Judge of the Court of Appeal) book, Some Stories I Have Told and Some That I Haven’t — was held. The event, which took place at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Wisma Badan Peguam Malaysia, was followed by a book launch of the second edition of his book.
Published by BookXcess, V C George’s book is a memoir-like account of his experiences as a lawyer, President of the Malaysian Bar, judge, arbitrator and more, told in his trademark sense of humour and quick wit.
Among the guests who attended the event were:
(1) Karen Cheah Yee Lynn, President of the Malaysian Bar;
(2) Mohamad Ezri b Abdul Wahab, Vice-President of the Malaysian Bar;
(3) Anand Raj, Secretary of the Malaysian Bar;
(4) Murshidah bt Mustafa, Treasurer of the Malaysian Bar;
(5) Cecil Rajendra, 2019 Malaysian Bar Lifetime Achievement Award (“MBLAA”) recipient;
(6) Cyrus Das, past President of the Malaysian Bar (1997–1999);
(7) Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, past President of the Malaysian Bar (2019–2020) and Co-Chairperson of the Bar Council National Legal Aid and Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan (“YBGK”) Committee;
(8) Salim Bashir, past President of the Malaysian Bar (2020–2021);
(9) Rajpal Singh Mukhtiar Singh, Co-Chairperson of the National Legal Aid and YBGK Committee;
(10) Ravi Chandran Subash Chandran, Co-Deputy Chairperson of the National Legal Aid and YBGK Committee;
(11) Rosman Azwan b Osman, Co-Deputy Chairperson of the National Legal Aid and YBGK Committee;
(12) James Foong Cheng Yuen, retired Judge of the Federal Court;
(13) Martin Cross, Publishing Director of BookXcess;
(14) Geetha Nair, Head of Public Relations of BookXcess;and
(15) Members of the Bar Council and Bar Council Secretariat staff.
The event started with an introductory speech by Chacko Vadaketh, V C George’s son, who then invited his father for a speech. In his speech, V C George recited some of his stories from his book, which was written during the various Movement Control Orders (“MCOs”) during the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed his gratefulness to Karen Cheah, President of the Malaysian Bar, who agreed to arrange for, and launch, the second edition of the book; Members of the Bar Council and Malaysian Bar who came to support the event; as well as BookXcess personnel who managed and ran the book’s promotional and marketing campaigns. V C George hoped that the book’s proceeds will be of help to the recipients, as follows:
(1) Mar Thoma USJ Congregation Fund for the Orang Asli;
(2) Rumah Hope;
(3) The Lighthouse Children’s Welfare Home; and
(4) Bar Council Legal Aid Centre.
After a group photo with the recipients and BookXcess representatives, Karen Cheah was invited to say a few words and to launch V C George’s book. She thanked him for his generosity in donating the proceeds from his book to the various charities and also to the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre, and gave a brief overview of his accomplishments and a summary of what the Bar Council Legal Aid Scheme is, before launching the second edition of Some Stories I Have Told and Some That I Haven’t.
As a token of his appreciation, V C George presented Karen Cheah a bouquet of flowers for graciously launching his book. A book signing session with V C George was held afterwards, during which light refreshments were served to the invited guests and attendees. Overall, the event was a successful and enjoyable one, with quite a few copies of the book being sold.
