Circular No 099/2021 Dated 16 Mar 2021 CPD Code: T5/18032021/BC212094/2

Constitutional Law Committee Webinar on The Future of Parliamentary Reform: Where Do We Go From Here? 18 Mar 2021 (Thursday) | 10:30 am to 12:30 pm This webinar carries 2 CPD points.

The Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee (“Constitutional LC”) is organising a webinar entitled “The Future of Parliamentary Reform: Where Do We Go from Here?” Register online here

The objective of this webinar is to highlight and discuss critical reforms required forour Parliamentary system, to keep in line with transformations in other countries and meet the demands of modern times.

Join us for an in-depth discussion on the topic.

Speakers

YB Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun is the He is the author of ten books, including Document of Destiny: current Speaker of the House of The Constitution of the Federation of (2008), Representatives of Malaysia, elected in Reflection on Life and the Law (2017), and Our Constitution July 2020. He is the former Chairman (2019). In four and a half decades in the law, he has of the Election Commission of Malaysia authored more than 600 articles in journals, periodicals and (“EC”), and is an alumnus of the newspapers. He has done many international consultancies, and King’s College including the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of London. Maldives in 1992.

Prior to his post as EC Chairman and Speaker, he practised as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya, Maha Balakrishnan read law at the specialising in corporate and commercial law for University of Bristol, UK and is a member shareholders disputes, insolvency, as well as public interest of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s law involving human rights, constitutional issues and Inn. She holds a Master’s degree in election laws, from 1987 until 2017. He was a member of democracy and comparative politics Constitutional LC from 2009 until 2015, and was a speaker from University College London. During at the biennial International Malaysia Law Conference, her 12 years as an advocate and organised by the Bar Council. solicitor, she practised civil, commercial and public administrative law. She has contributed to the He has also contributed to publications such as The Silent Malaysian Bar’s public advocacy work and has participated Roar: A Decade of Change, Perak: A State of Crisis and Law in Royal Commissions of Inquiry. Principles and Practice in the of Malaysia, as well as various articles on constitutional issues in Malaysia. Maha was the Co-Deputy Chairperson of Constitutional LC from 2009 until 2011, during which time saw the creation of the MyConstitution campaign. Upon shifting her focus to Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Hj Shad Saleem political science, Maha was a political adviser to the British Faruqi is the Fourth Holder of the Tun High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, where she provided Hussein Onn Chair in International interdisciplinary strategic analyses and developed Studies at the Institute of Strategic and multi-stakeholder partnerships, particularly on parliamentary International Studies (“ISIS”) Malaysia strengthening. from July 2019 to June 2021. Emeritus Prof Shad is also currently the holder of Maha has consulted for international non-governmental the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair at the organisations (“INGOs”), NGOs and think-tanks. She has Faculty of Law, University of Malaya. produced research and reference works, and participated as trainer and speaker on parliamentary procedures, He is a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission; institutional design, and legal and political reform. Among Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia; a member of others, Maha is the co-author of Malaysian Parliamentary the post-GE-14 Government’s Institutional Reform Procedure: A Guide to the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat Committee; and a member of the MA63 Committee. He is and a contributing author to Sweet & Maxwell’s “Law, Emeritus Professor of Law at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Principles and Practice in the Dewan Rakyat of Malaysia. She Shah Alam. He has also served as Visiting Professor at recently produced a report entitled “A Framework for a Universiti Sains Malaysia (“USM”), Penang; Associate Shadow Cabinet in Malaysia”, published by BERSIH 2.0. Professor at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (“UIAM”); and Adjunct Professor at New England University, Australia.

Moderator

Karen Cheah Yee Lynn has been in active legal practice ever since she was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1995. She graduated with a degree in law from the University of London in 1993, and thereafter obtained the Malaysian Certificate in Legal Practice in 1994.

She was the past Secretary and Treasurer of the Malaysian Bar, and was awarded the Advanced Tertiary College (“ATC”) Outstanding Alumni in 2016. She is a current Bar Council Member.

She currently co-chairs Constitutional LC with Andrew Khoo Chin Hock, and she also chairs the Bar Council Corporate and Commercial Law Committee. Karen is passionate in her quest for knowledge, the betterment of the Bar and the legal profession, and has an ardent interest in public interest issues.

Come and join this webinar from the comfort of your own home! This webinar is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Upon successful registration, a link to the webinar will be emailed to registered participants only. Registration will close at17 Mar 2021 (Wednesday) at 12:00 noon. Please note that no additional registration will be accepted once the closing date is passed, or if the webinar is full. We may not permit future registration if you fail to attend the webinar after registering, unless you provide an acceptable and valid reason(s).

Should you have any enquiries, please contact: Satha Selvan Subramaniam ([email protected]) Nursyaizan bt Jasni ([email protected])

Issued by: Karen Cheah Yee Lynn and Andrew Khoo Chin Hock, Co-Chairpersons, Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee