On 14 July 2020, AmerBON’s Pupil-in-Chambers, Mr Ryan Vong Junying, was called to the Bar at the Kuala Lumpur High Court before YA Dato’ Sri Mariana binti Haji Yahya. We thank Mr Edward Saw for moving Ryan’s call.

(L-R) Sin Yew (Ryan’s Master), Ryan and Edward (mover)
(L-R) Aimee Liew (Ryan’s mother), Ryan and Samantha Vong (Ryan’s sister)
(L-R) Reshera, Fiona Soong (Ryan’s classmate from the University of Essex), Ryan and Sue Lu
(L-R) YA Dato’ Sri Mariana and Ryan

Edward’s speech is reproduced here:


Dengan izin Yang Arif, saya, Edward Saw, mewakili pihak Pempetisyen, Ryan Vong Junyin, pada hari ini. Rakan-rakan bijaksana saya yang masing-masing mewakili Yang Berbahagia Peguam Negara Malaysia, Majlis Peguam Malaysia dan Jawatankuasa Peguam Kuala Lumpur yang telah pun diperkenalkan kepada Mahkamah yang Mulia ini.

Yang Arif, saya dengan segala hormatnya memohon kebenaran Yang Arif untuk meneruskan hujahan saya di dalam Bahasa Inggeris.

Background

I have the honour of presenting this petition before Yang Arif this morning. I have known the Petitioner since he was a young boy. He is the eldest child to very dear friends of mine as well as many other members of the bar. His father is the late Vong Poh Fah who was a distinguished member of the Attorney General’s Chambers for many years and subsequently a partner at Messrs Chooi & Co. His mother is also a very senior member of the Bar, Aimee Liew from Messrs Y.H. Teh & Quek. He has a 16-year-old younger sister, Samantha Vong. Both Aimee and Samantha are here this morning to witness today’s historic milestone.

My Lady, the Petitioner’s life, revolved literally around the legal profession. His late father, Poh Fah, would bring him to the Attorney General’s Chambers frequently. The Petitioner was three years old when he was first introduced to the work his father was involved in. Poh Fah was a senior, and distinguished, Deputy Public Prosecutor then who had the respect of many judges. He was a skilful advocate. This is where the Petitioner started to take a keen interest in criminal cases today. His mother, Aimee, is an accomplished lawyer with an exemplary personality to boot.  Being the son of two strong-headed and stony-willed lawyers meant that the Petitioner was joined as an unwilling party to many late night submissions on the finer matters of the law. So you see Yang Arif, the poor boy didn’t stand a chance. The writing was on the wall that he would end up at the Bar, and today, he stands before this Honourable Court to make his entry to the profession. What more when he was fairly useless, as he tells me, when it came to maths and science.

When the time came to decide on his tertiary education, the Petitioner did not hesitate. He read law at the University of Essex and obtained his LLB in 2017. He was subsequently called to the Bar of England and Wales after completing the BPTC course at Nottingham Trent University in 2018.

The Petitioner continued by joining Messrs AmerBON, Advocates in February 2019 under the tutelage of New Sin Yew, who himself, is an up and coming constitutional law and human rights advocate. During his tenure at AmerBON, the Petitioner, and in the tradition of pupillage, had no say in the work he undertook. Hence, he was exposed to a wide range of legal work. He enjoyed fighting for the rights of people, researching emerging issues in the world such as on strategic litigation cases against public participation, and supporting civil society organisations to make proposed amendments to enhance laws such as the Peaceful Assembly Act and the Persons with Disabilities Act. The Petitioner believes in fighting for the underdogs and thoroughly enjoyed his legal aid experience with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). That stint was eye-opening as the Petitioner started only then to realise the plight and challenges faced by refugees in this country.

With his eyes now more fully open, the Petitioner has decided to pursue a career as a criminal law practitioner.

Outside the legal profession, the Petitioner is an avid sportsman. He has excelled in tennis and golf representing his school and Kuala Lumpur in MSSM tournaments in both sports. He represented the University of Essex in tennis while pursuing his LLB. These days, like many of us who are limited by the constraints of having to earn a livelihood, he now only represents the Malaysian Bar as well as the Kuala Lumpur Bar in tennis, golf and football during the Bar games, Tripartite Bar games and the Interstate Bar games. 

The Petitioner would like to thank God for all the many blessings he has received in his life. The Petitioner also expresses his deep love and gratitude to his mother who has since the untimely death of Poh Fah in 2007 been playing both roles of father-mother as best as she could. While the Petitioner admits he is not the perfect son, he hopes that he has done right by her and has made her proud, and will continue to do so in the years to come. The Petitioner would like to recognise his sister Samantha who has been a bundle of joy since her birth 16 years ago and he would like to state that he loves her very much.

The Petitioner thanks his Master, New Sin Yew. Sin Yew took the brave step of embracing the Petitioner as his first Pupil-in-Chambers. The Petitioner further thanks Amer Hamzah Arshad and Edmund Bon for giving him a career launchpad at their prestigious law firm and for providing a different kind of working culture that one does not normally attain at a more conventional law firm. Lastly, the Petitioner would also like to express his gratitude to Joshua Tay, Michael Cheah, Hoe Sue Lu, Reshera Chan, and Beatrice Chin for their companionship and friendship during his tenure at AmerBON, Advocates.

Order

My Lady, the Petitioner has completed serving the period of pupillage prescribed by section 12(2) of the Legal Profession Act 1967. Having known him for many years, I can vouch that he is a person of good character who meets the requirements of a “qualified person” under section 11 of the Legal Profession Act 1976. He seeks his rightful place in the legal profession following the footsteps of his father and mother. I therefore submit that the Petitioner is a fit and proper person to be admitted and enrolled as an Advocate and Solicitor of this Honourable Court. I believe all the Petitioner’s papers are in order and I would respectfully request that my learned friends from the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Bar Council and the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee confirm that they have no objections to this petition. I, therefore, humbly pray that this Honourable Court do admit and enrol the Petitioner, Ryan Vong Junying, as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.