By Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin
Pix Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin

BANGI, 25 April 2015 – Reform of the law should be seen as a culture that is continuous and has no end point.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM), Hajjah Nancy Shukri said that law reform is not measured by a fixed boundarY or considered successful when it is amended.

It is a sustainable process that will continue to build its own cycle, said the De Facto Law Minister when when launching the Seminar On Law and  and the National Society 2015 to create awareness among students about  the ASEAN Community, at the National University of Malaysia (UKM)  today.

Therefore, she explained, all parties involved in legal reform irrespective  of policymakers , legal experts or the public, must always be aware and remember that legal reforms are continuous as long as there is  development and social change driven by internal or external factors.

The seminar, themed Engaging Youth in ASEAN Community:  Readiness of Malaysian Lawyers was organised the Students Union of UKM’s Faculty of Law  (PERUNDANG) in collaboration with the Malaysian Law Reform Committee (MLRC) here, today.

Nancy, who is  Chairman of MLRC, lawyers urged UKM Law graduates to be ready to face the challenges when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), takes effect 31 December 2015.

“The ASEAN charter is a solid basis of accountability and compliance, with lawyers as the key advisors, risking numerous challenges on  domestic laws in place. Laws that are outdated are creating disappointment. New laws should reflect current needs, be able to adapt to social changes,” she stressed.

She added that in the era of globalisation, ASEAN must change or adapt in order to transform it into a rules-based society based on common law.

Also present at the seminar were Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry and Community Partnership ) Prof Dr Imran Ho Abdullah, Director-General of Legal Affairs Division JPM  Datuk Nursiah Arshad, Dean of the Faculty of Law Prof Dr Rohimee Shapiee and Director-General of the seminar Amirul Firdaus Ridzwan.