The Malacca Bar Committee presented a cheque for RM30,000.00 to the beneficiary of the late Jimmy Khoo Seng Kiong in a ceremony held in the Straits Malacca Hotel on 20th May 2010. The ceremony was held after a talk by Haji Sulaiman Abdullah for young lawyers and chambering pupils on “Etiquette and Traditions of the Bar” The RM30,000.00 was the entitlement to a death benefit from the LawCare insurance scheme which covers all members of the Malaysian Bar. Present at the ceremony were his widow, Madam Nelly and his two sons, Jason and Julian.
Mr Ng Kong Peng as the Chairman for the Malacca Bar fondly remembers Jimmy Khoo to be a “jack of all trades” and that he knew how to live life to the fullest, a fact acknowledged by Madam Nelly herself when she thanked the Bar for remembering her late husband. Mr Ng shared the lifestory and achievement of the late Jimmy Khoo to the young lawyers and chambering pupils present.
The late Jimmy Khoo was born in Malacca but constantly moved around becaused his father was a planter. He had his primary education in Mantin, Seremban and had his education in various institutions in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Batu Pahat and finally in Malacca.
He graduated as a Barrister from the Inner Temple London in 1970 and started his pupillage with Mr. Humprhey Ball from Messrs. Allen, Gledhill and Ball. He partnered Mr. Andrew Goh in his early years in practice and subsequently set up a firm known as Messrs. S.K. Khoo & Tan Tian Teok. This firm is now known as Messrs. S.K. Khoo & Associates.
He was versatile in his profession and was known to have his hand in nearly everything (Orchard and Landscaping business, workshop doing engineering works such as repairing tractors, breeding fishes, building swimming pools and even dabbled in the restaurant business).
He loves sports and played golf, hockey, badminton and basketball. A fact unknown to many of us, he played badminton in England and was the Middlesex champion. He loved horticulture and was a judge in many orchid competitions and was once president of the Orchid Society. He was also a Chairman for the Malaysian Taekwondo Association, Malacca Tennis Association and Persatuan Peranakan Cina Melaka.
He loved his practise as a lawyer too and once remarked “If I can live my whole life again, I would still take up law”.
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