Article and photos contributed by Anis Taufik, Editor/Writer, Bar Council
If
you have ever contacted the Bar Council Secretariat with enquries
regarding your Sijil Annual (“SA”) application, there is a large chance
that you would have liaised with Kwan Yin Cheng, an Officer in the
Membership Department. Soft-spoken with a quiet, serene smile, Kwan —
as she is known within the organisation — is one of the few individuals
at the Bar Council Secretariat who knows the procedures involved when
applying for SA like the back of her own hand. This should come as no
surprise, for Kwan, a staff member since 1983, can often be found
working her way through a challenging workload, with tight deadlines
during the SA application peak season, at a steady pace. After all
these years, Kwan is also very familiar with the names of lawyers and
their law firms.
When
I let out a gasp of surprise at how long she has been with the
organisation, Kwan merely observed in a factual voice, “That’s 29
years.” She provided some background of how she had first started at
the Bar Council Secretariat, explaining that she had begun her career
with the organisation as an accounting clerk in the Finance Department.
In a nostalgic voice, she reminisced that Bar Council was so much
smaller back then and the Membership Department was not yet in
existence. Instead, all issues pertaining to Membership, such as the
issuing of SA, was handled by the Finance Department. Kwan pointed out
that during that time, the Finance Department could handle the
processing of SA on its own as there were only approximately 1,000
Members of the Bar. According to her, Bar Council has grown
tremendously in the almost three decades since her first day. She
highlighted that she is always particularly impressed that there are now
over 14,000 Members, thus justifying the need for a separate, and
relatively large, Membership Department.
In
a reflective tone, Kwan acknowledged that Bar Council has developed a
lot over the years and she felt awed to have been able to witness the
organisation’s steady growth through time. When asked what the most
noticeable difference is today, Kwan replied with a single word:
“technology”. She elaborated that in her early days, computers were not
available and typewriters had been relied upon completely instead.
With a small laugh, Kwan added, “We had to type out all the
certificates for Sijil Annual manually as we didn’t have the computers
to process or print them in the 1980s”. She described the
time-consuming task by adding that all the details received had to be
keyed in by staff members themselves as there had been “no such thing as
pre-printed forms”. Kwan rubbed her hands together instinctively
before blurting out that on top of it all, the verification work had
been done manually with carbon paper, thus resulting in inky and
blackened fingers and palms!
Kwan
mentioned that the peak period for the Membership Department usually
begins around the end of September each year, as that is when the SA
applications start trickling in. She explained that a deluge of
applications would be submitted to the Department, and approximately
2,000 to 3,000 applications could come in at one go towards the first
deadline, followed by several thousand more by the second deadline.
The
processing of SA applications is especially challenging for the staff
members of the Membership Department as they have to process all
applications within a period of 21 days, as stipulated in the Legal
Profession Act 1976. Kwan added that during the peak period, the number
of SA applications processed daily could range between 200 and 300.
Noting
that the workload must be quite overwhelming at times, I enquired how
she deals with stress and the pressure of having to meet tight
deadlines. Kwan chuckled deeply and replied that whenever she feels
work is getting out of hand, she keeps stress at bay by taking breaks to
put some space between herself and work. She emphasised that it is
important to take breaks to ensure productivity, and admitted that on
especially busy days, she would pick up her bag and go out for lunch
with colleagues to talk things through. Doing so has enabled her to
view issues objectively, thus allowing her to plan her next course of
action and tackle problems effectively. With a sly, conspirational
wink, she revealed that although she does not subscribe to the idea of
“retail therapy”, she enjoys window shopping and browsing. She pointed
out that she sometimes walks around the stalls of Central Market with
colleagues after a hearty meal as it does wonders to help her relax and
take her mind off work.
During
our chat, Kwan talked openly of matters that are close to her heart. A
proud mother of four, she is always up at the break of dawn to prepare
breakfast for her children, all of whom are still studying. She went on
to say that she only makes her way to work after all her children have
been sent to school. As she talked about her daily routine, I enquired
how she manages to keep everything in her life — four children to look
after, a husband to attend to, a home to manage, on top of a full-time
job — balanced. Kwan shared that she feels fortunate as she has help
and support from her in-laws who live with her family, citing that they
often lend a hand in looking after her children while she and her
husband are at work. Restating her earlier point about making time for
herself, Kwan elaborated that she derives pleasure from the simple
things in her life such as watching television with her family after
dinner, in addition to reading newspapers and magazines when she can.
She added that having a pet dog at home is a constant source of joy to
her too.
Kwan
also confessed to being a big fan of music. Citing sentimental music
and oldies as her favourites, she commented that she finds them calming
and wonderful to listen to when unwinding after a long day at work. She
added that she enjoys going to concerts when she can, and had actually
caught Air Supply’s performance when the band came to Malaysia. Kwan
then paused briefly, only to note with wry amusement that as her
children always listen to the latest pop songs, she “can’t help but tune
into the current hits on the music charts with them sometimes”. She
gave an example of the generation gap between her and her children,
explaining that although she had heard Lady Gaga’s music on the radio
before, she had gotten the shock of her life when she saw the singer
perform on MTV. In her own words, she had actually exclaimed, “Who’s
this lady? She looks horrible!”, much to the chagrin of her children.
As
the afternoon progressed and the sun began to dip across the horizon,
we began to talk about the future. Kwan, having been with Bar Council
for a large portion of her professional career, is realistic about her
expectations and where she is headed. She laughed softly as she said,
in her practical and self-assured voice, “Looks like I’ll be here until I
retire!” before expressing contentment with where she is.
This is the eleventh in a series of profiles of Bar Council personnel. Please click here read the other profiles.
This is the eleventh in a series of profiles of Bar Council personnel. Please click here read the other profiles.
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