Who is Roger Tan, the lawyer in Pastor Koh and Amri’s task force?

Senior lawyer Datuk Roger Tan Kor Mee  is one of

the two latest additions to the  special task force probing

the high-profile enforced disappearances of Pastor

Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat.

— Picture via RTNP.my

Malay Mail

by Ida Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — Senior lawyer Datuk Roger Tan Kor Mee is one of the two latest additions to the special task force probing the high-profile enforced disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat, but who is he? 

Tan is currently serving as a Bar Council member, but his peers and his long list of achievements can easily attest that his appointment is not mere tokenism for better diversity in the government’s seven-man task force. 

Here’s a quick look by Malay Mail at Tan’s background, based on his law firm’s website and publicly available information: 

Tan, who was born in Yong Peng, Johor and has a law firm in his home state, graduated with a law degree from Queen Mary College, University of London and also holds a master of law from the National University of Singapore.

Trained as a barrister of the UK’s Gray’s Inn, Tan was admitted as a lawyer in peninsular Malaysia in October 1989 and is also qualified to practise as a lawyer in Singapore. 

Throughout his 30-year career, Tan had actively contributed to the legal community, including as Bar Council member for the years 2004 to 2009, during which he was also the webmaster for the Malaysian Bar’s website which he went on to redesign. 

Religion and the law

The Sunday Star

Legally Speaking by Roger Tan

The Jais raid on the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia has put into focus the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988 of SelangorThe Jais raid on the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia has put into focus the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988 of Selangor.

THE Jan 2 raid by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) on the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), in which 331 copies of Malay and Iban Bibles were seized, has brought to national attention a piece of state legislation hitherto unknown to many Malaysians – the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988 of Selangor (Selangor Enactment).

So far, Jais has argued they were empowered to do so under Section 9 (1) of the Selangor Enactment, which prohibits any non-Muslim to use in writing or speech any of 25 words or any of their derivatives and variations, as stated in Part 1 of the Schedule, pertaining to a non-Islamic religion.

The 25 words are Allah, Firman Allah, Ulama, Hadith, Ibadah, Kaabah, Kadi, Ilahi, Wahyu, Mubaligh, Syariah, Qiblat, Haj, Mufti, Rasul, Iman, Dakwah, Injil, Salat, Khalifah, Wali, Fatwa, Imam, Nabi andSheikh.

Section 9 (2) also prohibits a non-Muslim to use 10 expressions of Islamic origin set out in Part II of the Schedule, including Alhamdulillah and Insyallah.

Non-Muslims can, however, use the words and expressions by way of quotation or reference.

Jais contended that Section 9 (1) had been contravened because the Malay and Iban Bibles contain the word “Allah”. Further, they were entitled to arrest without warrant the BSM chairman, lawyer Lee Min Choon, and manager Sinclair Wong as section 11 provides that all offences and cases under the Selangor Enactment are deemed to be seizable offences and cases under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), that is, offenders of seizable offences can be arrested without any warrant of arrest.

A fortiori, as this is a law passed by a state legislature, it has the force of law and quite rightly it can, therefore, override the 10-point solution decided by the Federal Cabinet and communicated via the Prime Minister’s letter dated April 11, 2011 to the Christian Federation of Malaysia.

GE13: Do not politicise the pulpit

The Sunday Star

by Roger Tan

When spiritual leaders start to use the church to make fun of the government or endorse a particular political party or candidate, this is wrong.

ON April 15, Roman Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing lambasted the government for holding the 13th general election on a Sunday. Tan warned, as reported in a Malaysiakini article, “Bishop says Sunday ballot a bane to Christians”, that for this reason, he would urge Catholics in his diocese to consider carefully before voting.

It is surprising that this Bishop of the Diocese of Malacca-Johor who was also someone who had helped found the Catholic Research Centre could have got his facts so wrong. In this respect, I could not have agreed more with Austin Gonzales’ response to Tan’s unwarranted outbursts (see “Is Bishop Paul Tan being insensitive and callous?”, The Star, April 18) except to reiterate that, firstly, it is not the government but the Election Commission that fixed the election date. Secondly, the 7th, 8th and 11th general elections were all held on a Sunday – Aug 3, 1986, Oct 21, 1990, and March 21, 2004.

If Tan feels so strongly that Catholics in his diocese should not be inconvenienced on a Sunday because it is a holy day, then all the more he should urge them to consider carefully before voting for PAS as the weekly holiday may well be changed to a Friday should they come into power!

I am sure Tan’s sentiments are not shared by many Christian Malaysians. In fact, I am rather concerned that lately the pulpit has been misused for political purposes. Just last Sunday, one woman pastor in an established Kuala Lumpur church purportedly said over the pulpit without any substantiating evidence that thousands of foreigners would be voting in this election.

In the Facebook Group of the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia, someone was even allowed to post that Sunday had been chosen in order to enable phantom votes to take place in the morning when Christians are worshipping in church! This is indeed a colossal exaggeration. There was also another posting there heaping praise on PAS for fielding Hu Pang Chow, a Christian, in this coming election.

To my mind, what Tan and the woman pastor did was to sow hatred and make their believers angry. They have obviously forgotten the Prayer of St Francis of Assisi to become instruments of peace so that where there is hatred, may they sow love, and where there is injury, pardon.

Tan, in particular, should be reminded by what Pope Francis said recently that hypocrisy has undermined the church’s credibility. In the pontiff’s words: “Inconsistency on the part of pastors and the faithful between what they say and what they do, between word and manner of life, is undermining the Church’s credibility … Those who listen to us and observe us must be able to see in our actions what they hear from our lips, and so give glory to God.”

Eulogy delivered by Roger Tan for the Revd Dr. George Hood at the Sunday Worship Service of Holy Light Church (English) on 20 January 2013

Members of this congregation, it gives me great honour and yet sadness to deliver a eulogy for the Revd Dr. George Hood who passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of the morning of Wednesday, January the 9th at his home in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. According to his daughter, Catherine, George was normal the night before when she helped him to the bed. He was 95. 

This Church remembers him as the one instrumental in restarting this English Service on the evening of the first Sunday of August, being 3rd of August, 1952 after it had ceased shortly with the passing of Dato’ James Meldrum in 1904.

George was a veteran missionary and Church historian. Born on Friday, April 27, 1917, he graduated in history at Oxford and studied at Cambridge for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of England (now known as the United Reformed Church). In 1943, he was ordained at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Newcastle to serve as a missionary. He first served at the English Presbyterian Mission in Lingdong Synod of the former Church of Christ in Shantou (or historically known as Swatow), China, between 1945 to 1950. This was also the area in which his wife, Elizabeth’s parents and grandparents had worked from 1869 onwards. Elizabeth passed away on October 7, 2010.

Double joy for Holy Light Church

All praise for new hall: Church-goers during a worship session.

The Star

Congregation celebrates newly completed hall and 60th anniversary

JOHOR BARU: It was a poignant moment for the congregation of Holy Light Church (English) when their retired pastor Reverend Nicholas Yeo took the stage of the newly completed Faith Worship Hall to sing ‘My Tribute (To God)’. 

This is understandable considering that the congregation had waited close to 20 years to have their own Church building.

On Sunday Oct 28 their dream finally came true when the completion of the RM4Million multi-purpose hall in Persiaran Ponderosa Utama project finally came to fruition. Close to 700 worshippers turned up for the morning service. It was also a double celebration as the Church is 60 years old this year.

Johor Baru church rejoices over RM500,000 govt aid

One for the albumn

The Star

MALACCA: The Holy Light Church (English) received a cheque for RM500,000 from the Government for the construction of its building in Jalan Persiaran Ponderosa in Johor Baru.

It was good news for church members who were having their annual camp at Puteri Resort here when they received the cheque from congregation member and senior lawyer Roger Tan.

Tan said they were grateful that the cheque was received so soon after Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin approved the grant.

Tan, who is also a Commissioner in the National Water Services Commission, was at the signing of the Water Services Restructuring Water Agreement on May 23 in Putrajaya when he approached Muhyiddin about the church being in urgent need of funds to complete its RM4mil building.

The building, which houses a worship hall, a multi-purpose hall and meeting rooms, is due to be completed in October for the church’s 60th anniversary celebrations.