JOHORE BAR ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 46th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING JOHORE BAR ...

100 Pages·2016·3.77 MB·English

46th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
JOHORE BAR JOHORE BAR ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16
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46th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
JOHORE BAR ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 JOHORE BAR
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46th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
JOHORE BAR JOHORE BAR ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16
CONTENTS
Page
1. Agenda 2
2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 14th February 2015 3 - 11
3. Calendar of the Johore Bar 2015/16 12 - 17
4. Chairman’s Report 18 - 23
5. Honorary Secretary’s Report 24 - 25

6. Courts Liaison & Public Relations Sub-Committee Report 26 - 30
7. Building, House, Library & Member’s Welfare Sub-Committee Report 31 - 32
8. Conveyancing Sub-Committee Report 33 - 35
9. Legal Aid Sub-Committee Report 36 - 38
10. Continuing Professional Development Sub-Committee Report 39 - 43
11. Publication & Information Technology Sub-Committee Report 44 - 45
12. North Johore Affairs Sub-Committee Report 46 - 48
13. Sports Sub-Committee Report 49 - 50
14. Human Rights Sub-Committee Report 51 - 52
15. Social, Charity & Welfare Sub-Committee Report 53 - 54
16. Young Lawyers & Chambering Pupils Sub-Committee Report 55
17. Shariah Sub-Committee Report 56
18. Johore Bar Representative’s Report 57 - 64
19. Johore Bar Events Gallery 65 - 70

20. Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2015 71 - 93
21. Statement by the Internal Auditors 94
22. Motion By Johore Bar Committee To Increase 95
The Johore Bar Subscription Fee For The Year 2016
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46th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
JOHORE BAR ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 JOHORE BAR
46TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
THE JOHORE BAR 2016/17
Date : Friday, 19th February 2016
Time : 3.00 p.m.
Venue : Auditorium JOTIC Johor Bahru
AGENDA
1. To confirm and if approved, to adopt the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 14th February 2015.
2. To discuss matters arising therefrom.
3. To consider the Johore Bar Committee’s Annual Report for the year 2015/16.
4. To consider and if approved, to adopt the Johore Bar Committee’s Statement of Accounts for the year 2015.

5. To consider and if approved, to adopt a motion by the Johore Bar Committee to increase the Johore Bar Subscription
fee for the year 2016.
6. To fix the annual subscription for the year 2016.
7. To elect :
(a) The Chairman for the year 2016/17.
(b) Not less than four (4) members and not more than ten (10) members to the Johore Bar Committee for the year
2016/17.
(c) One (1) member to represent the Johore Bar in the Bar Council, Malaysia for the year 2016/17.
(d) Two Internal Auditors for the year 2016/17.
8. To discuss any other matters.
Dated this 15th January 2016.
NIK RAIHAN BINTI NIK JA’AFAR
Honorary Secretary
Johore Bar Committee
2015/16
1. Any member wishing to bring up any resolution at the meeting must lodge notice of the same with the Hon. Secretary
not less than seven (7) days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.
2. Immediately after the Annual General Meeting the Incoming Committee will hold its first meeting.
Those elected are kindly requested to attend this meeting.
3. The quorum is 5% of the total number of members of the State Bar. We have 1868 and 5% is 93.
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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD ON 14TH FEBRUARY 2015
1.1 The Chairman, Mr. R Jayabalan addressed the Meeting at 10.00 a.m.
1.2 The Chairman informed the members that under Section 70(2) of the Legal Profession Act, 1976
the required quorum for the Annual General Meeting of the State Bar was 5% of the membership.
As the membership of the Johore Bar was 1,812, the required quorum was 91 members, and
since the quorum was not present, the meeting shall stand adjourned to 11.00 a.m. on the same
day and at the same venue as per the Notice of Meeting issued to members.
1.3 The Chairman then called the meeting to order at 11.00 a.m. and announced that there were 59
members present.
1.4 The Chairman made the following announcements before moving on with the agenda:
(a) Members were reminded to be concise and precise in making their points;
(b) Members were reminded to introduce themselves before making their comment or query;
(c) Members were requested to either switch off their handphones or to keep them in silent
mode; and
(d) Only Members of the Johore Bar were entitled to vote and pupils in chambers shall be
seated at the designated area and were ineligible to vote.
1.5 The Chairman then requested members to rise and observe a minute of silence as a mark of
respect for the following members:
(a) Zainuddin bin Embong who passed away on 5/3/2014;
(b) Lau Koh Kong who passed away on 11/8/2014;
(c) Loh Song Chuan who passed away on 4/11/2014;
(d) GSP Ravindran who passed away on 7/12/2014; and
(e) Norisah binti Abu Aman who passed away on 18/12/2014.
1.6 The Chairman on behalf of Mr. C Sankaran, Chairperson of the Conveyancing Sub-Committee
conveyed his apologies for not being present at the AGM due to a personal commitment.
1.7 The Chairman thanked the Committee members and Secretariat staff for their effort in compiling
and preparing the Annual Report for 2014/15 and to make it available to members two weeks
before the AGM.
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ITEM 1 OF THE AGENDA:
TO CONFIRM AND IF APPROVED, TO ADOPT THE MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING HELD ON 22ND FEBRUARY 2014
1.8 There being no amendments, the minutes were adopted as proposed by Ms. Chandrika and
seconded by Ms. Navamani.
ITEM 2 OF THE AGENDA:
TO DISCUSS MATTERS ARISING THEREFROM
2.1 There were no queries raised.
ITEM 3 OF THE AGENDA:
TO CONSIDER THE JOHORE BAR COMMITTEE’S ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR
2014/15
3.1 The Chairman said that the Calendar of Events for 2014/15 was reported from pages 15 to 22
of the Annual Report.
3.2 The Chairman referred to page 21 of the forthcoming events and informed members on the
cancellation of the Welcoming Hi-tea for YA Datuk Wira Halijah binti Abbas, Judge of the Muar
High Court as YA was unable to attend the Hi-tea.
3.3 The Chairman referred to page 22 and informed members that a new date will be fixed for the
Public Forum on Police Accountability in Malaysia and Seminar on Personal Data Protection
Act 2010 And Its Implications.
A. Chairman’s report
3.4 The Chairman referred to page 26, and said that many social events were organized this year
mainly in view of the transfer, farewell and elevation of judges and judicial commissioners in
the state of Johor.
3.5 The Chairman referred to page 27, item “At the Bar Council”, and said it was for members’
information.
3.6 The Chairman said that this year has seen an improvement in the level of participation from
amongst younger members towards Bar events but as a whole the level of attendance of
members at Bar events was still low.
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B. Honorary Secretary’s report
3.7 The Chairman said the Honorary Secretary’s report was shown from page 29 to 30.
C. Courts Liaison and Public Relations Sub-Committee Report
3.8 The Chairman said the Courts Liaison and Public Relations Sub-Committee report was shown
from page 31 to 35.
3.9 The Chairman informed members that three court forums on court issues had been held
during the year but saw a poor attendance from members. The issues raised by members
were later discussed with the courts.
D. Building, House & Library and Members’ Welfare Sub-Committee Report
3.10 The Chairman said the report of Building, House & Library and Members’ Welfare Sub-
Committee, led by Mr. Andrew Wong, was shown from page 36 to 37.
E. Conveyancing Sub-Committee Report
3.11 The Chairman said the report of Conveyancing Sub-Committee, led by Mr. Sankaran, was
shown from page 38 to 39.
F. Legal Aid Sub-Committee Report
3.12 The Chairman said the report of Legal Aid Sub-Committee, led by Mr. Kuna Nadasen, was
shown from page 40 to 41.
G. Continuing Professional Development Sub-Committee Report
3.13 The Chairman said the report of Continuing Professional Development Sub-Committee, led by
Ms. Santhi, was shown from page 42 to 47. Chairman also said that this Sub-Committee had
been very active during the year and had organised several seminars for members’ benefit.
Notwithstanding that, two events had to be cancelled due to poor response.
H. Publications & Information Technology Sub-Committee Report
3.14 The Chairman said the report of Publications & Information Technology Sub-Committee, led
by Mr. Mathews George, was shown on page 48.
3.15 The Chairman informed members that the Publication committee managed only to produce
two issues of the Info Johore Bar in the year due to insufficient articles and contributions from
members.
I. North Johore Affairs Sub-Committee Report
3.16 The Chairman said the report of North Johore Affairs Sub-Committee, led by Pn. Shahareen
Begum, was shown from page 49 to 51.
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J. Sports Sub-Committee Report
3.17 The Chairman said the report of Sports Sub-Committee, led by Mr. Hardip Singh, was shown
from page 52 to 53.
K. Human Rights Sub-Committee Report
3.18 The Chairman said the report of Human Rights Sub-Committee, led by Mr. K C Ng, was shown
on page 54.
3.19 Mr. George John requested the Committee to arrange for full publicity of the incoming Public
Forum on Police Accountability in Malaysia that will be held at Johor Bahru. He felt that this
Public Forum would have full support from the public as there had been several cases of
deaths in police custody.
L. Social, Charity & Welfare Sub-Committee Report
3.20 The Chairman said the report of Social, Charity & Welfare Sub-Committee, led by Mr. Fadhil
Ihsan, was shown from page 55 to 56. Chairman also said that there was a lack of attendance
from members for the social activities.
M. Young Lawyers and Chambering Pupils Sub-Committee Report
3.21 The Chairman said the report of Young Lawyers and Chambering Pupils Sub-Committee, led
by Ms. Gun Huei Shin, was shown from page 57 to 58. Chairman also said that the Young
Lawyers Committee had produced the Pupilage Handbook for easy reference of the pupils in
chambers and the Handbook would be made available at the secretariat.
N. Shariah Sub-Committee Report
3.22 The Chairman said the report of Shariah Sub-Committee, led by En. Fadhil Ihsan, was shown
on page 59.
O. Johore Bar Representative’s Report
3.23 The Chairman said that the report of the Bar Representative, prepared by Mr. S. Gunasegaran,
was shown from page 60 to 69.
ITEM 4 OF THE AGENDA:
TO CONSIDER AND IF APPROVED, TO ADOPT THE JOHORE BAR COMMITTEE’S
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 2014
4.1 The Johore Bar Committee’s Statement of Accounts for the year 2014 was approved as
proposed by Ms. J. Chandrika and seconded by Ms. Kamala Gopal.
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ITEM 5 OF THE AGENDA:
TO FIX THE ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE YEAR 2015
5.1 The Chairman said that the Johore Bar Committee propose that the Annual Subscription for
the year 2015 to remain at RM 200.00. Mr. Norman Fernandez seconded the proposal.
5.2 There being no other proposal or objection, the proposal was carried.
ITEM 6 OF THE AGENDA:
TO CONSIDER AND IF APPROVED, TO ADOPT A MOTION BY THE JOHORE BAR
COMMITTEE TO NAME THE JOHORE BAR AUDITORIUM AS ABDULLAH A. RAHMAN
AUDITORIUM
6.1 A summary of the motion is that: The Johore Bar resolves as follows:-
“That the Johore Bar Auditorium is to be named as the Abdullah A. Rahman Auditorium in
recognition and appreciation of the late Abdullah A. Rahman’s contribution as leader of the
Johore Bar.”
6.2 The Chairman informed the members that the Committee had put forward this motion in order
to seek members’ views on the proposal to name the Johore Bar Auditorium as the “Abdullah
A. Rahman Auditorium”.
6.3 Mr. P. Suppiah requested the Committee to provide more information to members for the
reasons to change the auditorium name. He was of the view that to associate a person’s
name to a building could be done if that person had contributed a lot of money to the building.
He further said that most of the members did not know who Abdullah A. Rahman was.
6.4 The Chairman said that Abdullah A. Rahman was the first Johor lawyer to have been elected
as the Chairman of the Johore Bar in 1970 and had led the Johore Bar until 1981. He was the
longest serving Chairman of the Johore Bar and was also the first Johore Bar Chairman to be
elected as the President of the Malaysian Bar.
6.5 Mr. P. Suppiah requested the Committee to consider the matter seriously and give more
facts before deciding to change the auditorium name. He added that other Chairman and Bar
Representative have also done considerable work for the welfare of the Bar.
6.6 The Chairman said that the Committee has brought the proposal to the attention of the Bar
Council as the building belongs to the Malaysian Bar and the Bar Council had agreed to let the
Johore Bar decide on the matter.
6.7 Mr. Andrew said that the Bar Council had decided that the Johore Bar Committee could decide
on the proposal and not necessarily by the House.
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6.8 Mr. Norman Fernandez said that a large majority of members did not know who Abdullah A.
Rahman was. He requested the Committee to defer the motion to another time and requested
for more information on Abdullah A. Rahman to be published in the Info Johore Bar.
6.9 The Chairman informed members that a write-up on the late Abdullah A. Rahman had in
fact been published in the Johore Bar website for members’ information. He further said that
the late Abdullah A. Rahman’s contribution that was often referred to was his role in the
amendment of the old Advocates Ordinance which resulted in stopping Singapore lawyers
from practising in Malaysia in the 1970’s and that had resulted in more work opportunities for
Johor lawyers.
6.10 Mr. Norman Fernandez reiterated his earlier objections to the proposal.
6.11 Dato’ Yeo Yang Poh spoke in support of the motion. He disagreed that recognition of a
member’s contribution to be given only when there was financial contribution. He said that he
had known personally of the late Abdullah A. Rahman. Abdullah A. Rahman had served the
Johore Bar for eleven years and thereafter as the President of the Malaysian Bar. He believed
that the senior members had also known him well and had never heard of anything negative
about him in the past.
6.12 The Chairman requested that the motion be put to vote, and the outcome was:
62 IN FAVOUR
11 AGAINST
5 ABSTAINED
The motion was carried.
ITEM 7 OF THE AGENDA:
TO ELECT:
(A) THE CHAIRMAN FOR THE YEAR 2015/16
7.1 The Chairman invited nominations for Chairman for the year 2015/16.
7.2 Mr. R Jayabalan was proposed by En. Mohd Fairuz, the proposal was seconded by En. Hj.
Noordin.
7.3 There being no other nominations, Ms. J. Chandrika proposed that the nominations be closed
and Mr. Norman Fernandez seconded.
7.4 Mr. R Jayabalan was re-elected as Chairman for the year 2015/16.
(B) NOT LESS THAN FOUR (4) MEMBERS AND NOT MORE THAN TEN (10) MEMBERS TO
THE JOHORE BAR COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 2014/15
7.5 Mr. Norman Fernandez praised the Committee for a job well done and proposed that all of
them be elected en bloc for the year 2015/16 to continue the good work.
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