VC George: small-town boy who became Malaysia’s legal giant

Free Malaysia Today

The 93-year-old talks about his legal career that began in Malaya.  Written & presented by: Sheela Vijayan Shot by: Fauzi Yunus Edited by: Hemaviknesh Supramaniam  Read More: Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/05/13/vc-george-smalltown-boy-who-became-a-legal-giant/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTLifestyle #VCGeorge #Retired #Judge

Transcript

00:00 (somber music)

00:02 I was about 12 years old when the Japanese invaded Malaysia,

00:07 1942, I was 12.

00:09 And they came in through Kota Bharu

00:14 and then came right down south towards KL

00:17 and the British retreated.

00:22 They went to Singapore and hoped that they would

00:25 hold the Japanese in Singapore,

00:27 but they didn't last very long

00:29 and the Japanese took over within months,

00:32 the war was over.

00:33 - In 2017, Wadah Keat Chako George,

00:38 fondly known as VC George,

00:40 received the Malaysian Baas

00:42 Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

00:45 He is undeniably a legal giant,

00:51 but he was once a small town boy from Klang.

00:54 (somber music)

00:57 He recalls his childhood days in Klang as a blissful time.

01:08 This was halted abruptly, however,

01:10 when the Japanese invaded Malaya.

01:13 - In those days, we had English medium schools

01:16 as well as vernacular schools.

01:19 The Japanese came and converted the whole thing

01:21 into Japanese medium schools.

01:24 So, my school, from using English as a medium of education,

01:29 I started using Japanese.

01:32 - But there was a silver lining.

01:35 He became proficient enough in Japanese

01:37 to become an interpreter for a Japanese garrison

01:40 in nearby Banting.

01:41 (somber music)

01:44 Long before VC saw himself as a lawyer,

01:48 a teacher had recognised his potential and told him so.

01:53 But he opted to study dentistry,

01:56 only to realise that it wasn't his cup of tea.

01:59 Remembering his teacher's words,

02:01 he switched to law and the rest is history.

02:04 His law career, which began in pre-independence Malaya,

02:09 is certainly illustrious,

02:11 and he has made lasting contributions

02:14 to the legal community.

02:15 Over the decades, he has been the president

02:20 of the Malaysian Bar, a high court judge,

02:23 and one of the five judges in the new commercial division

02:25 of Kuala Lumpur's High Court.

02:27 - My heyday was as the head of the commercial division

02:33 when some of the very biggest cases in the country,

02:36 commercial cases, came before me.

02:39 So, I had great lawyers like Cyrus Das and Tommy Thomas

02:44 and so on, Lim Kian Chye, appearing before me.

02:49 - After his retirement, VC became a consultant with Screen,

02:52 a prestigious law firm where he remains until today.

02:56 Not one to sit idle in his golden years,

03:02 he penned a book titled "Some Stories I Have Told

03:05 and Some That I Haven't" during the pandemic.

03:08 Looking back, VC says he never expected

03:15 to scale the heights he did.

03:17 - I was a mediocre student.

03:21 I never expected to get anywhere.

03:24 Eventually, I got to some high places,

03:28 simply not because of any special ability of mine.

03:32 I happened to be the right man at the right place.

03:34 So today, in my opinion, we have a very sound judiciary

03:42 with acclaimed Maimun, Chief Justice of Malaya,

03:49 doing a fantastic job, and a number of other judges

03:53 with her, Nalini Padmanabhan, Mary Lim, and so on,

03:58 doing a fabulous job.

04:01 And we have a very, judiciary we should be very proud of.

04:06 - Sheila Bijayan, FMT Lifestyle.

04:12 (upbeat music)

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Transcript

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