KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Law Society (SLS) held its 4 th Annual General Meeting on 22 January 2022.
Roger Chin is re-elected as the President of Sabah Law Society unopposed. The other office bearers re-elected for the 2020/2021 term unopposed are Mohamed Nazim Maduarin as Vice President, Ryan Soo as Secretary, Song Wei Wan as Assistant Secretary Jamadi Saleh was elected unopposed as Treasurer. Five committee members are re-elected unopposed, namely, Wendy Lee, Chan Wai Ling, Marianne Ghani, Alvin Leong. Dominic Ghani was elected unopposed as committee member, rounding up the complete Sabah Law Society Executive Committee line-up.
In a statement by its president Roger Chin stated that with the recent amendments to the Advocates Ordinance of Sabah (the Ordinance) which came into force on 10 January 2022, members of the Executive Committee were elected for a two-year term instead of one.
With the additional period the newly elected Executive Committee will focus on completing
unfinished business continued from previous terms, the most pressing of which are:
(a) Establish an International Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre for East Malaysia.
Such a centre will be able to leverage on the relocation of the Indonesian capital to East
Kalimantan, Sabah’s leadership role in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-
Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and ultimately increase investor
confidence in Sabah;
(b) Follow up with and finalise the in principle approved land applied for by SLS to house a
secretariat for SLS. A SLS building would symbolically be a recognition of the Sabah State
rights (MA63) and the State autonomy over the legal profession in Sabah;
(c) Continue to expanding legal horizons beyond Sabah to capitalise on opportunities both
regionally and internationally;
(d) Continue to work with the relevant government departments to review laws affecting
investment and come up with a comprehensive checklist for foreign investors of the legal
requirements for transparency and to promote investor confidence in Sabah and the rule of
law;
(e) Assist the state government on the urgent need for law reform in the state. Many existing local laws relating to inter alia land and strata titles are outdated, having been drafted in colonial times, and the SLS hopes that the state government will be willing to move with the times;
(f) Develop a MA63 handbook/module on the historical and legal aspects of the MA63 which will allow the public, especially the younger generation to understand its importance in the formation of Malaysia. SLS was entrusted by the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division (BHESS) under the purview of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs), Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili to complete this important task and this module could be the standard material for schools and public engagements;
(g) Making rules for and to regulate online voting or postal ballot for the method of voting for the election of members of Executive Committee to ensure every SLS member will have a voice regardless of where the member may be and whether or not that member is able to
attend a General Meeting physically;
(h) Introduce rules to permit law firms to practise and operate through a Group Law Practice, which would essentially allow small law firms to practise and operate as a group by sharing premises and facilities while remaining as separate entities. The features of a Group Law Practice would include the following:
(1) A Group Law Practice is not a legal entity, is not operated as a partnership,
(2) The law firms in a Group Law Practice are to operate from shared premises at a common address, and may share facilities such as a library, furnishings and equipment;
(3) A Group Law Practice shall bear a name — which includes the words “Group Law
Practice” — that has been approved by the Sabah Law Society. The law firms in the Group Law Practice shall use the Group Law Practice name, along with the law firm’s name, in their operations; and
(4) The law firms in the Group Law Practice may operate a common bank account to meet
the common expenses of the Group Law Practice. Each law firm shall maintain its own office account and its client accounts;
(i) To study the feasibility of implementing a compulsory Professional Indemnity Insurance
Scheme which insures lawyers against civil liability for claims arising out of the legal practice for work customarily and legitimately performed by lawyers in Malaysia which include damages payable to claimants including claimant’s costs and defence costs and in so doing, provide protection to the public; and
(j) Amend and augment the remuneration and account rules to enforce scale fees as contained in the remuneration rules.-pr/BNN
