The Best I Could (9 page)

The next day I met Mr Chan at Shook Lin & Bok. He seemed a very unassuming man and even appeared shy at times. “So you’re the man Jaya talked to me about yesterday,” he said.

“Yes, sir, Mr Chan. I was there when he was talking to you.”

“Don’t call me Mr Chan. Just call me Sek Kiong. What is your area of interest?” I told him that I liked criminal law. He said: “Well we don’t have criminal law here but law is not all criminal law. You’d better learn something else also. When the time comes, you can go and follow a criminal lawyer and get some criminal law experience. I’ll arrange for it. In the meantime, I’ll be your master.”

Thinking I would have to report to work in a week or two, I asked him, “When do I start?”

“What do you mean? You start right now. Go and sit over there.” I must have looked disappointed because he asked me, “Why, do you have another appointment? Do you have other plans?” Of course I said no and went to my table. That was how I started my chambers with Chief Justice Chan Sek Kiong.

At that time, the most senior partner in the firm was L P Thean. He went on to become the Justice of Appeal. After retirement, he joined KhattarWong as senior consultant. Today, I too am a senior consultant with KhattarWong along with him and Amarjit Singh, a former Judicial Commissioner. Even now, I may be talking with some junior lawyers in the firm and L P Thean will call out, “Hey, you rascal, come here. Are we having lunch tomorrow?” After he chats with me and leaves the room, everyone will look at me. I’ll say to them: “You know, he can call me anything he likes because he was one of those people who shaped me in Shook Lin & Bok.”

One day during my pupilage, L P Thean asked me, “Hey, aren’t you interested in civil work? Don’t you want some jam on your bread and butter? Don’t you think you should do some civil litigation?”

“No, lah, L P, with my criminal law I think I can have enough jam,” I said proudly. “I hate to do all these civil matters. Very boring.”

He promptly replied, “Okay, I will not bother you anymore with this work but just think about it.”

Pupilage under Chan Sek Kiong was very interesting. He was not a demanding pupil master. He was prepared to teach you everything that you wanted to learn provided you wanted to learn. He was not the type of person who would whip you into shape because if you didn’t want to learn, that would be your problem. He made it very clear that if you showed interest in something and wished to discuss it with him, he wouldn’t hesitate to sit you down and explain it to you. I tell you, this man really knows his law very well. He is such a learned person in law. You can ask him anything under the sun—from equity to trust to criminal law—and he would have an answer for you. If he didn’t have an answer, he would give you the source where you can find your answer. He is a very brilliant man.

When he became a High Court judge, I appeared before him twice for two Magistrate’s Court appeals. Knowing that he was sitting as an Appellate Judge, knowing that he was my master, and also knowing that I had always given him the impression that I was a lazy pupil, I made sure that he was aware that I was, by then, a changed person. Each time when I appeared before him, I was thoroughly prepared with my arguments and I won the appeals on both occasions.

Years later, when L P Thean also became a judge, I had to appear before him on a civil matter. I got a judgment before the registrar in the High Court and the other side was appealing against the registrar’s decision. I argued against the other side. Justice L P Thean looked at me and listened to me. I did not know what was running through his mind, but I was very conscious of the fact that I had told him once a long time ago that I was not interested in doing civil law and that I could make enough ‘jam’ doing criminal work. I did not know if he remembered our conversation. Finally, he dismissed the appeal with costs. As we were leaving the High Court, he looked at me and smiled. Knowing L P Thean, he would have remembered everything because he has a very good memory.

I am one of the fortunate few to have had the likes of Chan Sek Kiong and L P Thean help me in my formative years as a lawyer. In many ways, both of them left a good impression on me. Contrary to some people’s thoughts that he was ashamed to have me as a pupil, Chief Justice Chan has, on many occasions, introduced me to others as his pupil. I like to believe that he’s done that with some pride.

Subhas and his father (1956)

Subhas, left, with his father and siblings, Sugadha, Surash and Sudheesan (1958)

The Anandan family. Seated from left: Surash, father, Subhashini, mother and Sugadha. Standing from left: Sudheesan and Subhas (1962)

Subhas, at 15 years old, with his mother (1962)

Graduation Day (1970)

Subhas with his elder sister, Subhashini (1975)

Subhas with his red Sunbeam, outside the family home in Kampung Wak Hassan (1975)

Subhas and his mother in their Kampung Wak Hassan home (1982)

Class of 1962, Naval Base School. Subhas is standing at the back row, third from left.

Subhas at a farewell party organised by his classmates of Naval Base School before he left for Loyola College, India, in 1963.