DATE: DECEMBER 6,  2019

TIME: 9 AM

BEFORE: HIS LORDSHIP DATO NORDIN BIN HASSAN

VENUE: RKKK 1, KUALA LUMPUR HIGH COURT

PETITION NO: WA-18-198-01/2019

PETITIONER: CHOONG JING YEN

If it pleases you My Lord, I,  Alex Chang Huey Wah, appear for your humble Petitioner, CHOONG JING YEN and my Learned Friend, Senior Federal Counsel Madam Shahmin Amizah Bt Abu Bakar is appearing for Chambers, I am most grateful that my learned Miss Shamsinar Dato Mohamed Noor is appearing for the Bar Council and also for the State Bar for this petition.

My Lord,

Your Petitioner was born  in Kuala Lumpur and is the second child of Mr. Choong Chan Heng and Madam Yap Sew Lin. I crave leave for her Father to be introduced before your Lordship.

Like most teenagers, your Petitioner was lost in the direction of her future after completing her secondary school  education at  Seri Bintang Selatan Secondary School  and Victoria Institution Kuala Lumpur.

Since your Petitioner was a science student, her parents assumed that she would go for a science-related degree in the University.  Be that as it may, she humbly rejected an offer to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering in  Oil and Gas   At  the University Malaysia Pahang (UMP) without a second thought. Her reason is simple. She is not keen on physics and mathematics to calculate the area under the graphs…

Subsequently, your Petitioner took a risk and embarked on this legal journey, something that was brand  new to her.

My Lord your petitioners told me at that time reading law seemed to be a good idea as she   scored A+  for her language papers. Little did she know, she had chosen a super difficult route.

Law school is no bed of roses, she admitted that she struggled in law school as the 3 hours examination was nerve wrecking. It was a gruelling 3 hours as there is just too much to write within the limited time.

I told your petitioner, do not worry, those training will be useful  when you appear in the high court once you are admitted to the bar.

Hence, at times, your Petitioner questioned her choice of becoming a lawyer but giving up was never an option. She persevered in her studies and ignored her self-doubt as Nelson Mandela once said “It always seems impossible until it’s done”.

Fast forward to 2017, your Petitioner was conferred a Bachelor of Laws  with Honours from the University of London. She has further obtained the qualification of  a  Certificate in Legal Practice the year after.

Your Petitioner then commenced and completed her pupilage at Heiley Hassan, Tan & Partners under the tutelage of her pupil Master, my very learned and very good friend  Mr. Kingston Tan.

It was during her time at the firm and through Legal Aid that she developed her passion for law. Through her many discussions regarding case laws and legal authorities with her Master, she now enjoys and appreciates the law.

Furthermore, your Petitioner realized that one can only understand the law by application and not memorizing it blindly. Nevertheless, the risk to read law was worth it. She aspires to work hard and use the law to make someone’s life better, especially those disadvantaged by poverty and the less  privileged.

My Lord I have known her pupil Master Kingston for about 20 years and many of my assistants who met Mr Tan told me openly that they would have liked a pupil master like him.  What  a privileged and enviable experience your petitioner received.

On this day of her admission, your Petitioner would like to take this opportunity to express her appreciation and heartfelt gratitude:-

To her wonderful parents who  supported her decision to become a lawyer instead of an engineer;

To her siblings—for their patience and tolerance, especially during her examination period;

To Madam Choong Sock Peng, being your Petitioner’s aunt — for her generosity and financial support;

To her pupil Master, Mr Kingston Tan for giving her  invaluable knowledge and experience;

To her referees, Legal Aid supervisors and everyone from Heiley Hassan, Tan & Partners for their continuous assistance and guidance to her and

To all her friends for always being there for her during her tough times in  law school.

My Lord,

I verily believe that the Petitioner is a fit and proper person to be admitted and enrolled as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.

I also verily believe that all her papers are in order and there are no objections from my learned friends. Accordingly, I humbly pray for an order in terms.

ORDER

May I seek leave from this Honourable Court for my learned friend Mr. Kingston Tan, the Petitioner’s Pupil Master, to robe your Petitioner.

Much obliged.