Dear Members

Kindly be informed that on the 8^th of April 2019, the newly elected President of the Malaysian Bar (MB) Mr. Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, the Vice-President Mr. Roger Chan Weng Keng the Secretary, Mr. Salim Bin Bashir Bhaskaran and the Treasurer, our very own Mr. Surindar Singh A/L Chain Singh paid a courtesy visit to the Perak State Bar. On hand to warmly welcome them were members of the Perak State Bar.

Never before after being elected, the office bearers of the MB have made a courtesy call on the Perak Bar with a view to meeting its members. So it was an unprecedented appearance. Unfortunately, the attendance by members of the Perak Bar in general and the senior members, in particular was appalling, to say the least.

Notwithstanding the lack of enthusiasm shown by our members, it did not deter the President and all the other office bearers from making it clear that the reason for their visit is to hear first hand the complaints and issues that arises in daily practice in Perak. Concisely put, as the President said and echoed by the Vice – President, the MB intends to be more “member – centric” henceforth and to allay the perception that the MB does not look into issues of “bread and butter” affecting the members. The office bearers made it crystal clear that any issues faced by our members in daily practice can be channelled through the Perak Bar or directly to them, and if the need be, anonymity will be maintained in dealing with them.

The approximately one hour of engaging session discussed various issues faced by our members and also suggestions for improvement.  To  Mr. Chan Kok Keong’s suggestion that the MB suggest to the Chief Justice of reviving the sittings of the apex courts by regions, as was the tradition, to enable pupils as well as the young lawyers an opportunity to be exposed to appellate advocacy, the Vice – President agreed to look into it. As regards the query by Mr. S.V.Namasoo as to whether the KPI or otherwise known as “aging of files” is still in force, the President indicated that the MB is not in favour of the same and have already had meetings with the Chief Justice to make known its stand and in particular Circular No. 055/2019 as regards adjournments. The President as well as Mr. Mathialagan shared their own experiences arising from the implementation of KPI. Miss Navit Kaur raised the problem arising from the implementation of e – lelong, in particular as regards the reserve prices fixed prior to the implementation of e – lelong. The newly elected Malaysian Bar office bearers were all ears to the feedback and suggestions put forward by our members and gave their assurance that they will look into them for the betterment of the Malaysian Bar as a whole.

Both the Perak State Bar and the newly elected MB office bearers expressed their appreciation to each other for their unwavering support throughout the years and hope to continue working hand-in-hand to take the MB to greater heights.

The evening ended with tea and fellowship where our members had the opportunity to mingle and get to know the newly elected office bearers better.

The Perak Bar applauds the newly elected MB office bearers for their initiative and taking time off their busy schedules to meet and understand the concerns of fellow members of the Bar. The Perak State Bar wishes the office bearers the very best and looks forward to a fruitful 2019/2020 term.

Thank you.