This item has been updated since initial publication.
Yang Amat Arif Tun Arifin Zakaria, Chief Justice of Malaysia;
The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong;
Yang Amat Arif Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Md Raus Sharif, President of the Court of Appeal;
Yang Amat Arif Tan Sri Dato’ Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya;
Yang Amat Arif Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum, Chief Judge of Sabah dan Sarawak;
Judges of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court;
Honourable Senators and Members of Parliament;
Datuk GBB Nandy @ Gaanesh, President of the Sabah Law Association;
Khairil Azmi, President of the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak;
Mark Livesey QC, President of the Australian Bar Association;
Brendan Navin Siva, Chairperson of the IMLC 2014 Organising Committee;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners;
Distinguished Guests;
Members of the Bar; and
Ladies and Gentlemen.
1) Introduction
On behalf of the Malaysian Bar, I bid all of you welcome to the International Malaysia Law Conference 2014, also known as the IMLC 2014.
To our guests who have flown in from abroad, selamat datang, huan ying, vanakkam and welcome to warm, sunny Malaysia. Some of you have flown in from as far away as Australia to the far south, United States from the east and the United Kingdom from the west. We are delighted to also have speakers and delegates from Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, India, and of course Malaysia. We are indeed honoured to have every one of you here today.
The IMLC brings together the legal fraternity, viz judges, lawyers, teachers of law, judicial and legal officers, in–house counsel and executives from industry to Kuala Lumpur to discuss matters concerning law and justice, and this year’s conference has the hallmark of being the largest IMLC to date, with approximately 700 registered delegates from around the world.
2) History of the IMLC
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The IMLC, although in its second instalment, is 43 years old, and finds its roots in its humble beginnings as the Malaysian Law Conference, which was inaugurated on 15 July 1971 by the then–Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
The impetus for the establishment of the Malaysian Law Conference dates back to the inaugural LAWASIA Conference (then known as the Law Association of Asia and the Western Pacific, and now the Law Association of Asia and the Pacific) which was held in Kuala Lumpur from 1 to 3 July 1968 and organised by the Bar Council of the States of Malaya. The Chairman of the Bar Council at that time was Mr RR Chelliah, and the Organising Chairman of the Conference was the late Mr Justice FC Arulanandom.
Soon after the LAWASIA Conference, the idea of having a Malaysian Law Conference was mooted by Mr Justice FC Arulanandom having been encouraged by the great success of the LAWASIA Conference in Kuala Lumpur, and also by having attended the Centennial Conference of the New Zealand Law Society in Rotorua in April 1969.
The proposal to hold a Malaysian Law Conference was then put before the 24th Annual General Meeting of the Malayan Bar held on 14 February 1970. Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusoff, the then–Attorney General, who was chairing the meeting said that he fully supported the idea and that it was one of the best possible ways to bring about closer co–operation between the Bar and the Legal Service. The meeting unanimously approved the idea of the conference.
As can be seen, the connection and relationship between the Malaysian Bar and LAWASIA goes back a long way, and it is gratifying to acknowledge that this good and close relationship between the organisations continues till this day. In this regard, we are delighted that the Immediate Past President, Ms Malathi Das, and the President–Elect, Mr Prashant Kumar, of LAWASIA are in attendance as speakers at this year’s IMLC. By the way, the 27th LAWASIA Conference is just around the corner, both in terms of time and place, as it will take place in Bangkok from 3 until 6 Oct 2014.
The inaugural Malaysian Law Conference was held from 15 to 17 July 1971. The Opening Ceremony was at the Commonwealth House in Damansara Heights, with most of the sessions taking place in the court premises, in particular the Federal Court. The Conference Dinner was a buffet dinner held on the first day of the Conference at the Royal Selangor Golf Club. The number of delegates attending was 150.
I looked up the event programmes of the Malaysian Law Conferences of yesteryear. The oldest one I found was that of the Eighth Malaysian Law Conference that took place at the Merlin Hotel — presently called the Concorde Hotel, a short distance from where we are now — in the year 1985. It was a modest three–day programme with two sessions a day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, we do not have records of our conferences earlier than 1985, perhaps an indication of the days before computerisation. As a matter of trivia, it might interest you to know that colour television was introduced in Malaysia in 1978 and the internet in 1995. Ironically, one of the session topics for that Conference was “Modern Technology in the Practice of the Law — Computerisation of Records and Microfiche”, which may explain why we have a record of that Conference.
The guest speaker at that conference was The Honourable Mr Justice PN Bhagwati, the Chief Justice of India who spoke on “The Role of a Judge in Protecting the Constitution — Indian Experience.” There was also a session titled “The Structure of the Judicial System — Is There a Need for Reform?” It is thus apparent that change and reform are perennial topics for us in the legal sector.
3) Evolution into the IMLC
Over the years, the Malaysian Law Conference grew in both size and stature. With the advent of globalisation, rapid advancement of technology, ease of communication and travel, and changes in the legal landscape, there was a need to recognise the interconnectivity of international trade and relations, the mobility of professional legal service providers, the important role that the law plays in it, and the many issues, challenges and opportunities that are present.
As many of you would be aware, the legal services sector in Malaysia was recently liberalised. As of 3 June 2014, pursuant to the amendments of the Legal Profession Act 1976, foreign law firms and lawyers are eligible to apply to practise international and their home jurisdiction laws in permitted practice areas in Malaysia. Additionally, foreign lawyers are permitted to “fly–in–fly–out” to a maximum of 60 days per calendar year. International arbitration is an open environment where foreign lawyers may enter Malaysia to sit as arbitrators or appear as counsel.
The significance of the liberalisation of legal services in Malaysia cannot be over–stated. The process of liberalisation of legal services in Malaysia is intended to be a gradual one, and we should respond in this time to these changes in a pro–active manner.
As individual lawyers and law firms, we have the abilities to meet the challenges of the changing legal environment, continue to contribute positively to the development of the law and legal practice, and at the same time reap its benefits if we put our minds to it. There are already quite a few Malaysian law firms doing so.
The changing environment is not only relevant for Malaysian private legal practitioners. The effects and demands of a globalised environment affects all the stakeholders in the legal sector, namely the Judiciary, Attorney General’s Chambers, private practitioners and the law faculties of our higher education institutions. It would thus be timely and advantageous for all of us, as stakeholders, if we were to come together as a committee for the purpose of pursuing a coordinated and concerted effort to study, develop and establish a clear plan or blueprint for the legal sector of Malaysia as a whole in improving and responding to an ever–evolving and transforming environment.
The Bar Council, as the representative body of the Malaysian legal profession, is constantly endeavouring to undertake various measures and initiatives to assist members of the Malaysian Bar to meet the requirements of the present and to prepare for the future.
Re–inventing the Malaysian Law Conference and transforming it into the International Malaysia Law Conference is one of our responses to these changes and needs. Thus, two years ago, the Conference was relaunched as the International Malaysia Law Conference or IMLC.
The theme of this 2nd International Malaysia Law Conference is “Reshaping the Legal Profession, Reforming the Law.”
Over the course of the next three days, we will address and highlight issues pertaining to the continuously changing legal landscape and environment of legal practice, the need for reform and development of the law and many other issues in a lively and candid environment.
These will be discussed and debated in the context of corporate, commercial, financial and tax laws; business and human rights; the changing regulatory environment and requirements; dispute resolution; public interests issues; the Federal Constitution; and legal practice development generally. There are eight breakout sessions with 24 subject streams and five plenary sessions.
We are fortunate to have an impressive line–up of over 90 speakers comprising some of the most respected legal minds and policymakers in the world. We are indeed honoured and delighted that:
(1) The Right Honourable Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Arifin Zakaria will deliver the Opening Address;
(2) The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong, will deliver the Keynote Address; and
(3) That these will be followed in the evening by the 3rd Raja Aziz Addruse Memorial Lecture to be delivered by Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Zain Al–Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (“IDEAS”).
I am also delighted that in this 2nd IMLC, we have forged a collaborative relationship with LAWASIA, the Law Society of Singapore, the Hong Kong Bar Association, and the Australian Bar Association.
This IMLC 2014 Conference would not have been possible if not for the tremendous work put in by:
• the members of the Organising Committee, led by the very able Chairperson, Brendan Navin Siva;
• the staff of the Bar Council Secretariat, led by Chief Executive Officer Rajen Devaraj; as well as
• the many volunteers who have generously offered us their time and energy for the next three days.
I also convey the appreciation of the Malaysian Bar and the Organising Committee to all the sponsors of this conference for their support and generosity.
Please join me in giving all of them a round of applause.
Please permit me to end my Welcoming Remarks with a quote from Winston Churchill, whom I am certain said these words in a different context, but which are nevertheless appropriate for this occasion:
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
To all the delegates, I once again express a very warm welcome, and I wish you a meaningful, edifying, robust, fruitful and enjoyable conference.
Thank you.
Christopher Leong
President
Malaysian Bar