May it please My Lady,
Not all of us who walk the court corridors knew that this is what we wanted to do for gainful employment. Many of us end up here by chance, because of our parents insistence, maybe ticked the wrong box or simply because we didn’t know what to do.
For some reason, the law seems particularly attractive to two classes of people – those who know exactly what they want to do and those who haven’t a clue what to do. I am pleased to tell my Lady that the Petitioner, who hails from Cheras, this morning is one of the former.
She says, ‘As far as I can remember, I was one of those who always knew they wanted to be a lawyer since they were quite young.’ Apparently, she has been declaring her ambitions for the law since she was 9 years old. That is impressive especially when I reflect and compare on my own experience. When I was 9 years old, my ambitions were grander and geared towards being Ultraman and saving Tokyo from monsters.
But just because the Petitioner’s path to the law was clear did not mean it was easy. Far from it. She had a few trying moments when she had to seriously consider her suitability for the profession.
One of those moments was during her SPM, which she did at the Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Serting, Negeri Sembilan. She was pushed into the science stream and did poorly, lost confidence, loathed classes and she says, ‘I did not do well in my SPM’. She only managed 5A’s and was disappointed with herself. This goes to show my Lady the standards the Petitioner holds herself to. I had only 2 A’s for SPM and was mighty pleased with them (even if my parents were not).
As a result, she lost her way a little and enrolled for a Diploma in Public Administration at UiTM Melaka from 2005 – 2008. In her course, she came across some law subjects which she had to take. She says, ‘It felt as though I fell in love for the second time.’
And once she finished that course she immediately took up law in the University of Malaya in 2008. The Petitioner threw herself into the course and busied herself particularly with promoting, managing and organizing in the Mock Trial Section of the UM Faculty of Law and involving herself with Student Exchange Programs with Songkla University, Thailand and Universitas Pancasila Indonesia.
What I found particularly impressive is that she did not confine herself to textbooks but read about events relating to the law. She tells me that one of the books that left a deep impression on her was Tun Salleh Abas’ Mayday for Justice. One her favourite lines was when he wrote: ‘I am at peace. As a human being I have only been tried and tested, not destroyed. It will take more than any action of an immoral or authoritarian Government of the moment to destroy a man who will tell the truth and stand witness to God.’
After that she says, ‘I was just extremely motivated all over again to study, understand, read and breathe law.’ The Petitioner graduated with her law degree on June 2012 and did her pupillage under Ms Nalinasegari Periasamy in the firm of Messrs Rusmah Arunan & Associates.
My Lady, I submit that the Petitioner has the character and the attitude to be a competent if not excellent lawyer.
One of her standout qualities for me is her initiative. This is a quality that is in short supply these days. How I came to be her mover exemplifies this. She tells me that after reading and being completely unimpressed with the Call to the Bar speech format suggested by the KLBC, she went online to look for call speeches to see how else it could be done. Lo and behold she found some fine call speeches on a little-known website called LoyarBurok and decided that she wanted something a bit more personal. She tracked me down and then wrote me an irresistible request by email to move her call. And here we are.
And though I confess to a little disappointment that the invitation to move her call was not made by the Master as it is traditionally done, I cannot help but be impressed with her initiative, resourcefulness and boldness. These are qualities that no lawyer should be without.
Another of her standout qualities that come across is her maturity. That came across many times in what she wrote to me. Two examples should suffice. The first is when she wrote ‘However, I have learned that it is great to dream big but it is best to set short term goals that are achievable. For now one of the goals I have is I want to improve myself in terms of emotional stability in a way that is less worked up when things are not going my way.’ What impressed me about this was her willingness to admit where she is lacking and to work on it. She also carefully balances her youthful exuberance with a realistic outlook. This is important because as a lawyer she will have to balance her client’s exuberant and highly optimistic view of his case with a realistic appraisal of their case.
The other thing she wrote was that: ‘When it comes to money, maybe for the time being I am not very particular about this yet because my focus now is to learn and keep on learning. If it makes sense to you, I want to make as many mistakes as possible right now because I can learn from these mistakes…’ Again, my Lady, we can see how she distinguishes herself from the ordinary with her insight, outlook and attitude instead of externalities.
This is not an attitude I come across often. The concerns I hear most these days are about how much one will earn instead of learn. I particularly like how she is unafraid of mistakes and keen to learn from them. So the Petitioner has the right and commendable attitude to learning, which can only help her improve in our profession.
And so I have no doubt that the Petitioner possess the right attitude, outlook and attributes to be a fit and proper person to be called to the Bar.
But there is one more reason why she should be called to the Bar. And it has to do with lawyer jokes. My Lady has heard many of them, no doubt told a few herself. Nothing wrong with that I do that too. The Petitioner is mindful that these jokes cast the lawyer as ‘bloodsucking’ ‘unethical’ and ‘selfish’ and she wants to change that. Though she can laugh at the jokes she says, ‘It is awfully funny, but it does not have to be that way. I want to change that perception…’
And I truly hope she does particularly since my friends and I have been singularly unsuccessful these last 15 years or so. And so we welcome the Petitioner with open arms to the cause of improving the lawyer’s image. So, in the alternative, I would submit that the Bar is a fit and proper profession for the Petitioner.
My Lady, the Petitioner would like to thank her parents Encik Mohd Fauzi bin Haji Hassan and Puan Noridah binti Mohamed Sin who have been supportive, important and crucial to all her successes and has never missed any event of importance in her life; her brother and sister who have been an inspiration and role model for her; everybody at Messrs Rusmah Arunan & Associates, particularly her Master; and all her friends.
I believe my learned friends have no objections to this Petition.
I pray that the Petitioner be admitted and enrolled as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.
Called on 29.11.2013
