NEWS

Acceptance Speech by Mr K S Rajah, SC

I thank the President and members of the Council of the Law Society for this most prestigious award. I had the privilege and good fortune to know and profit from C C Tan's knowledge of the law and the realities that go with the practice of the law. I asked him for assistance. It was freely given.

In C C Tan's time the true worth of a lawyer was judged by the qualities he exemplified. It was not determined by the millions a lawyer earned. Courage to stand up and say what was right and fair was valued.

When I was a DPP in the early 1960s the accused were very often defended by defence counsel who were proper to the Court and the prosecution but fearless when it came to defending the rights of the accused both in court and at the police stations. Very often they would be at the police station soon after the arrest of the accused. Lawyers were permitted to interview their clients while investigations were proceeding. Statements made to the police in the course of investigations were not admissible in evidence if the statements were made to police officers.
I was a little surprised when I attended my first Criminal Practice Committee meeting and heard what the lawyers said. I then decided to write the articles to show to members that if lawyers have difficulty saying things in Court about a view of the law about which they honestly felt strongly they can always write about it in the Singapore Law Gazette. I was proud of the Law Society when it went ahead and published an article when objections were taken to the contents of an article.

I must also thank my firm Harry Elias Partnership. They have provided me with the necessary facilities and closed an eye and sometimes both eyes when I spent long hours looking into matters academic and writing articles which not all my partners believed was a message for the times. My firm is here in numbers to support me and I thank the Partners for providing me with facilities for which there has been not adequate monetary returns.

It was Mahatma Gandhi who said 'no man is a hero to his wife'. Men, however, cannot afford that luxury. I am grateful to the President and Council members for having invited my heroic wife who is a wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother on this, my very special day, to witness the presentation of the award to me. My children who have been my joy are also present. I thank Jothie who has come all the way from Melbourne to witness the award presentation.

I cannot conclude my acceptance without saying a word of thanks to the Learned Chief Justice who is the guest-of-honour on this very special occasion to me and my family. There's a little story I would like to tell about him. I do not know whether he can recall the occasion when he graciously gave me his handwritten notes on criminal law when he moved up at the university. They were excellent notes and unlike my writing his handwriting to those who have not seen it is always even and elegant. It is similar to the handwriting in the first page of the draft Charter of Justice. A copy of the page is in the book From Foundation to Legacy by J A Andrew Phang.

May I thank the President and members of the Council again and wish them all a term in office that will always be remembered for their many contributions.