The Kuala Lumpur Bar Blog

Over the weekend of 16th -17th April 2011, 36 new and old members of the Kuala Lumpur Bar Young Lawyers Committee (KLYLC) participated in a retreat at Bukit Gambang Resort City Kuantan, Pahang. Nestled within the secondary jungle in Gambang, Kuantan, the resort provided the perfect environment for the retreat. Despite a rainy Saturday morning, it did not dampen the spirits of the enthusiastic participants who all gathered at the BHP Petrol Station, Gombak before leaving together in a convoy of 9 cars. After a 3-hour drive through the East Coast Highway, the participants arrived safely at the resort. The retreat began with a brief welcome address by the KLYLC Chair, Kenneth Wong Poh Lim followed by an ice-breaking session. Participants were paired together and required to briefly describe his/her partner. Each participant was also provided with a name tag to sketch his/her partner’s face on it. After a scrumptious buffet lunch at the resort’s coffee house, the next agenda for the retrea

The KL Bar Environmental and Humanities Committee organised a one- day forum on climate change entitled Climate Change: A Catastrophe in the Making on 22 February 2011 at the Bar Council Auditorium, Kuala Lumpur. The forum drew an attendance of 100 participants comprising of members the Bar, environmental activists , NGOs, civil society, government agencies, the private sector and students from local and foreign universities. The event was fully sponsored by KLS Energy Sdn Bhd, an organisation which promotes usage of alternative sources of energy such as windmills and solar panels. Six invited speakers presented their papers in 2 separate sessions in the morning, focusing on topics such as After Cancun 2010 what next? and The Real Nature of Climate Change. Why is it everybody’s problem? The speakers were Ms Chew Swee Yoke of the Malaysian Bar, Mr Muru Loganathan of the British High Commission, Mr Adrian Yeo of Malaysian Youth Climate Justice Network, Mr Gurmit Singh KS of Centre of

Chief Justice of Malaya’s Practice Direction No 2 of 2011 on Court Proceedings and Joint Press Release by the Chief Justice of Malaysia and the President of the Malaysian Bar Bar Council is pleased to inform you that the Bench and the Bar have arrived at a common position on the KPI issue. Click here for Practice Direction No 2 of 2011 and here for the the joint press release dated 7 Apr 2011. We will make further announcements regarding the working groups. Meanwhile, we are also working with the Bench to resolve the problems of clashing hearing dates and no postponements arising from the Court of Appeal’s fixing of interlocutory appeals. Should you have any feedback, please submit your input by email to nikwaheeda@malaysianbar.org.my or by fax to 03-2032 2043. Please do not hesitate to contact Nik Waheeda Nik Kamarulzaman by telephone at 03-2031 3003 ext 142 or 03-2032 4498, should you require any clarification. Thank you for your patience. Bar Council hopes this will be one of man

11 March 2011 PDC Seminar on Islamic Wills II Amir Bahari from Bahari & Bahari presented the seminar which is part of a 3 part series of seminars on Islamic Wills. The seminar was held at the KL Bar Auditorium at 3.00pm and was attended by 58 participants. The presentation covered the key differences between Islamic and Conventional Estate Planning, appoint ment of Executors, how to qualify clients effectively, effectively billing, strategic planning with Trustee corporations, and the role of lawyers in estate planning. The speaker also included a sample of Islamic Intermediate Will in his notes and also a copy of the e-Wakaf. 18 March 2011 PDC Seminar on Recent Tax Cases S. Saravana Kumar and Siti Fatimah Mohd Shahrom from Lee Hishammuddin Allen and Gledhill presented the seminar on 18 March 2011 at the KL Bar Auditorium. The seminar was attended by 46 participants. The cases that were covered at the seminar were CH Sdn Bhd v Ketua Pengarah Hasil Dalam Negeri, MHL Sdn Bhd v Ketua

On 21-3-2011, Mr. Hugh Selby presented a talk titled The Advocates Journey – From First Steps to Greatness. A total of 133 participants attended the said seminar. As a brief introduction, Mr. Hugh Selby is a professional advocacy trainer and is attached to the Australian National University College of Law program. He teaches and writes about court craft (a range of techniques that are useful to advocates and witnesses in courts and tribunals). He trains experienced advocates and expert witnesses, police and law students, drawing upon teaching methods he has developed over the years. He has been teach advocacy technique to lawyers since 1986 and has taught in Australia, Malaysia, Japan and the USA. He started the talk by handing over a 3-page summary to the participants regarding the aspects he would be covering. It was highlighted to the participants that on the said summary, there is an empty column on the right. The purpose of which is for participants to make their