JUDGES

Here are some of the few names in our Judging Panel for ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2022.

Andrew Mercer
General Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs, Asian Football Confederation

Andrew is a UK qualified lawyer with extensive experience in the sports sector. He started his legal career in private practice at leading international firm, Slaughter and May, in London in 2006, specialising in IP/commercial matters and advising a range of corporate clients (including Premier League football clubs). In 2010, Andrew moved to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in Switzerland, where he stayed for over seven years. At UEFA, Andrew initially provided legal support in commercial matters as a member of the Marketing Legal Services unit (advising on IP, sponsorship and licensing contracts) but later joined UEFA’s Disciplinary Services unit, specialising in football-specific regulatory and disciplinary matters (including financial fair play, club licensing, general disciplinary and anti-doping cases). In 2017, Andrew joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Malaysia as Deputy Legal Director and Head of the Sports Legal Services, Disciplinary and Governance unit, which provides legal expertise in disciplinary, regulatory and governance matters. In May 2020, Andrew took on the role of AFC General Counsel & Legal Director. He is the chief legal officer of the AFC, with responsibility for the supervision and management of the AFC’s legal function and all legal activities undertaken by the organisation (namely IP/commercial matters, corporate legal affairs, integrity, disciplinary, governance and regulatory matters, as well as the AFC’s medical function). Andrew is a member of the English Football Association’s Judicial Panel and an arbitrator with the European Handball Court of Arbitration. He is also a regular contributor to the distinguished 'Football Legal' journal and is a member of the editorial panel for the publication.

Dato Chris Chin
Managing Partner, Shang & Co.

Dato Chris Chin founded Shang & Co.in 2011. Dato Chris focuses on family and matrimonial disputes for local and international families in Malaysia, including highly contentious matters and collaborative resolution. Dato Chris is also the co-author for Handbook on Family Law Practice in Malaysia: Commentary, Procedures and Forms and The International Comparative Legal Guide to Family Law. The firm is the winner of Matrimonial and Family Law Firm of the Year in ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2016.

After completing Master In Law in 2015, Dato Chris also has extended education in Fintech by Harvard Business School and Real Estate Economics & Finance by London School of Economics & Political Science. Dato Chris is actively engaged to advise and handle commercial and contract matters for businesses and investments involving high net worth individuals, companies, societies, and associations in Malaysia.

With the growing dedication to technology, Dato Chris founded AskAila, the record holder of Malaysia's First A.I in Labour Law in Malaysia Book of Records and Click Divorce, a legal tech to simplify divorce for lawyers and clients.

Dato Chris has been awarded as Commercial & Contract Lawyer from Malaysia in Leading Adviser Awards 2020, Recommended Attorney in Global Law Experts 2018, Leader Businessperson in The Bizz 2017 by World Confederation of Business and featured in 40 under 40 by Asian Legal Business in the year 2016. 

David Chiam
Legal Director - South East Asia, DFI Retail Group

David has over 20 years of experience in the legal and governance sectors. Having begun his legal career in 2 reputable law firms in Malaysia specializing in intellectual property and brand protection law, he then undertook a 5 year government stint in 2004, handling a wide range of legal, administrative and policy matters for the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports and subsequently, the Ministry of Tourism. Upon leaving government service, David returned to the corporate sector by joining British American Tobacco Malaysia in 2010 as its Senior Legal Counsel and was subsequently promoted as Head of Legal and Secretarial Services in 2015. 

In June 2017, David started as Legal Director and Company Secretary at DFI Malaysia, overseeing iconic retail brands such as Giant, Cold Storage and Guardian Health and Beauty. In late 2018, David assumed the role as Legal Director for the DFI Singapore businesses. In October 2020, David assumed his current role as Legal Director - South East Asia, covering and leading the DFI Retail Group legal and governance teams across Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia. 

David was listed amongst the top 100 General Counsels in the 2018 GC PowerList South East Asia by Legal 500 and has been on the ALB judging panel for a number of years.
David holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is also a licensed Company Secretary with the Companies Commission of Malaysia. 

Prof. Dr Ashraf bin Md Hashim
CEO, ISRA Consulting

Prof. Dr Ashraf bin Md Hashim is the Chief Executive Officer of ISRA International Consulting (ISRA Consulting). He is also a Professor at International Centre of Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). Dr Ashraf currently sits on the Central Bank of Malaysia's Shariah Advisory Council (SAC BNM) as Deputy Chairman and the Securities Commission of Malaysia’s Shariah Advisory Council (SAC SC). He is also, a member of Shari’ah Committee for International Islamic Liquidity Management Cooperation (IILM) and the Chairman of Shariah Committee of Bursa Malaysia (Malaysia Exchange House). In addition, he also serves as member of National Fatwa Council of Malaysia (Muzakarah Kebangsaan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam), a Shariah committee member of Yayasan Waqf Malaysia (Malaysia Waqf Foundation), State Development Cooperation of Kelantan (SEDC), a committee member for Waqf Committee for Kelantan Religious Council and Finance and Investment Committee member for Selangor Religious Council.

He is also a member of Board of Directors for Tabung Haji (Pilgrimage Fund) and its Chairman of Shariah Board. He is also the member of the Board of Halal Development Cooperation (HDC) Malaysia, Express Rail Link (ERL) and Tabung Haji Travel and Tours. He is actively involved in many consultancies works related to Islamic finance abroad, among others, member of Shariah Board for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) in the United Arab Emirates, the Islamic Bank of Australia (Project), Noor Takaful Nigeria (Chairman of Advisory Council of Experts), IMON International, Tajikistan and a few REIT companies, particularly in Singapore.

Ida Suryati Ab. Rahim
Group General Counsel & Company Secretary, IHH Healthcare Berhad

Ida Suryati is Group General Counsel & Company Secretary of IHH Healthcare Berhad, one of the world’s largest healthcare networks, with 80 hospitals in 10 countries.  She holds this position since joining IHH in 2019 and leads the IHH Group’s legal and company secretarial functions located in Malaysia, Singapore, India, China and Hong Kong. 

She obtained a Degree in Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from National University of Malaysia in 1996 and was admitted to the High Court of Malaya as an advocate and solicitor in 1997. She also obtained Master of Law (LLM)(Commercial) from University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in 2014 and Master of Law (LLM) from University of Malaya, Malaysia in 2005. 

She brings with her more than 25 years of experience through various leadership and managerial positions she held in legal and company secretarial roles in agribusiness, oil and gas and fast moving consumer goods companies. She had also in the past served as Vice President, International Business and led the Sustainability & Environment Department and Group Governance Division of one of Malaysia’s largest oil palm plantation public listed company. As general counsel and company secretary of the companies that she served, she was involved in major projects, including initial public offers and listing, mergers and acquisitions, capital market and fund raising corporate exercise, corporate restructuring and financing, legal employment matters and management of major commercial litigations in and outside Malaysia. She also advises on corporate governance related matters, corporate disclosures and compliance with the Malaysia stock exchange rules and regulations. She is currently the company secretary of the Board and all the Board Committees of IHH Healthcare Berhad.

Mahendran Gnasamoothy
Head, Legal & Compliance, WZ Satu Berhad

Mahendran Gnasamoothy was a former corporate and litigation lawyer for 10 years before leaving legal practice to join the corporate world as in-house counsel. He has served with various public-listed entities in diverse sectors including financial services, telecommunications, construction as well as oil and gas. Mahendran has amassed over 10 years of experience as in-house counsel in the AMEA region, South Asia and most ASEAN nations.  

With his thoughtful yet engaging manner and inter-disciplinary experience, Mahendran continues to be a sought-after advisor for a number of legal firms in Malaysia and Singapore. He is also frequently called upon to give talks to corporate bodies seeking greater clarity with regard to legal duties and liabilities.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil
Director General, Institute of Understanding Islam Malaysia (IKIM)

He is currently the Director General of the Institute of Understanding Islam Malaysia (IKIM). He was the Deputy CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia (1 April 2013 - 6 February 2022). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Shari’ah from the University of Malaya. He obtains both his Master of Laws (LLM) and PhD degrees from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. In terms of board membership experience, he was the Independent Director of CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (2014-2016), Chairman of the CIMB Group Shari’ah Committee (2014- 2017), and one of the Directors of IAIS Malaysia (2015-present). Other professional experience include, lecturer at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia (1990-2020), a panel for the Industrial Court of Malaysia (2007-2009), and a Fulbright scholar under the Fulbright Visiting Award by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), Washington, DC, USA in 2007. He sits on various advisory and editorial board of journals and has been a regular reviewer for reputable international journals. His writings have been published in reputable journals locally and internationally. His book, Pelaksanaan Undang-undang Islam di Malaysia - Khayalan Atau Realiti?, co-published by Ilham Books and IAIS Malaysia in 2018, won the National Library Book Award 2020. He is a regular guest speaker on legal issues concerning Islamic law in Malaysia. His areas of interest are: Constitutional law, Shari’ah and Civil law conflict, Human Rights, Islamic Criminal law and Islamic Law of Transactions (mu’amalah).

Natisha Zainol Rashid 
General Counsel and Director of Corporate Affairs, Mahkota Technologies Sdn Bhd

Natisha Zainol Rashid heads the Corporate & Legal Services for Mahkota Technologies Sdn. Bhd. and it’s Group of Companies (formerly known as GEC Malaysia). Her portfolio covers all legal advisory and regulatory matters for Mahkota Group of Companies. She also deals directly with clients and business partners on corporate matters and commercial contract negotiations which mainly involves telecommunication, energy, utility and transportation industries. As legal representative for Mahkota Group of Companies, Natisha is involved in major projects such as the nationwide Smart Meters roll out project for Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the development of Large Scale Solar project (LSS) for Energy Commission Malaysia, construction of TNB’s High Voltage Substations and engine maintenance of navy vessels for Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). She is also involved in commercial dealings with multinational corporations including Sagemcom (France), Fincantieri S.p.A (Italy), Doppelmayr Group (Austria) and MAN (Germany), FiberHome (China)to name a few.

Prior to holding the in-house role, she had extensive law practise exposure at renowned legal firms namely Messrs. Zul Rafique & Partners, Messrs. Salehuddin Saidin & Associates and Messrs. Raja Riza & Associates. While in practise, Natisha mainly handles general litigation and corporate advisory matters involving various areas of law. She also had the pleasure of handling highly contentious briefs involving corporate and commercial disputes up to the Federal Court. Natisha holds a Bachelor Degree in laws and Masters Degree in Commercial Law and sits as one of the panel of judges for ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2019.

Shalinee Fernandez
Senior Legal Counsel- Global Operations, Ansell Global Trading Center (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd

Shalinee Fernandez graduated with a law degree from the University of London in 1999 and University of New England, (New South Wales) Australia in 2020 and admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor to the High Court of Malaya in October 2002. With over 19 years of experience, 5 years in private practice as a partner undertaking both litigation and corporate work and the last 14 years as an in-house counsel for both local/ multinational corporations.

Named as Top 50 Legal Falcons in the world at the LexTalk World Conference in Dubai in 2021, Women Icon of the Year 2021 by Times Women and featured in the 3rd Edition encyclopedia by Britishpedia Media-Successful People in Malaysia 2021 celebrating the accomplishments of Malaysians who have excelled in their own field due to her contribution to the field of law. Corporate legal experience across 2 niche industries of ICT and Manufacturing, Regional Legal Counsel Asia-Pacific for ATOS, a French Information, Communications and Technology multinational heading all legal matters for the Australian continent, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia and in APAC region. Key successes include negotiating large contracts with the Australian government including GovNext-ICT in Western Australia (2017) and Commonwealth Games 2018 in Brisbane, Australia.

Her last role in 2018 was based in Sydney, as a Legal & Regulatory Counsel for OLA, an Indian ride-share company that launched globally into the ANZ market. Key member of the international launch team carving in legal operations and processes and successfully obtained licenses and accreditations for each state on the Australian continent and New Zealand.She has been the Senior Legal Counsel for Global Operations & Manufacturing for ANSELL since 2019, an Australian multinational corporation which manufactures protective industrial and medical gloves and PPE worldwide which has been on the frontlines battling the COVID 19 pandemic and undertakes a legal role overseeing Ansell operations globally.

Shalinee is also in the midst of completing her final papers to get called as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia by 2022.

Sivabalan Sankaran
President, Society of Construction Law, Malaysia
President, Malaysian Society of Adjudicators
Arbitrator, Adjudicator at AIAC

Having been in practice in Malaysia and Brunei for 32 years, Sivabalan Sankaran is a highly regarded senior contracts, commercial, litigation and construction lawyer.

He has acted in a variety of international counsel on numerous arbitrations including construction and international commercial contracts.

He represents multinational clients in a wide range of other litigious matter including insolvency, building contracts and construction disputes, land disputes, landlord and tenant matters, banking and finance litigation, and defamation. He has appeared in the courts in Malaysia and Brunei both at first instance and appellate level at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court in Malaysia and at the Court of Appeal in Brunei. He has also appeared as expert witness on Brunei law in the High Court in Singapore.

He has been listed in Chambers and Partners for Business Law in Brunei and is listed in International Who's Who of Professional 2009.

He is a part of following organisations

• The Malaysian Bar Association
• Society of Construction Law
• Malaysian Society of Adjudicators
• Lighthouse Club Malaysia
• Past Legal Advisor to the Professional Golfers Association, Brunei
• Past Legal Advisor to the Indian Chamber Of Commerce, Brunei

Shahrin Albakri bin Mustafa Albakri
Senior General Manager, Legal, Corporate Secretarial & Compliance, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering 

Shahrin has over 20 years of experience in the legal field having begun his career in legal practice in 1999. After a stint of 8 years in practice he ventured into the corporate sector with Sime Darby Property Berhad. There he structured, negotiated and completed numerous land acquisitions/disposals and was a key member of the merger between Sime UEP Properties Berhad and Guthrie Properties Berhad. Having left Sime Darby, he changed industries and joined Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd as General Manager, Legal & Company Secretarial. He also headed the Free Zone Authority of the port. From then on, he moved to Gas Malaysia Berhad, Velesto Energy Berhad, Uzma Berhad and to his current role in Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd where he is also the Company Secretary. 

Shahrin has a wide range of experience having advised on several substantial corporate exercises from mergers and takeovers to corporate funding exercises ranging from rights issuance, refinancing and various Sukuk issuances.  Through his vast working experience in the corporate legal field, Shahrin had developed the expertise in understanding the requirements of different industries while at the same time maintaining the legal perspective essential to the effective performance of his role. 

Shahrin holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Malaya.

Valerie Kong
Partner, Clifford Chance

Valerie is a partner in the Clifford Chance Corporate team. She started her career with Clifford Chance as an intern in 1999 and has worked in the firm's London and Singapore offices.  She is currently a member of the firm’s Singapore Leadership Group and also the firm's global Partner Selection Group. 

Valerie has extensive experience advising multi-national corporates, financial investors, sovereign wealth funds and W&I insurance underwriters on complex cross-border M&A transactions and joint ventures across Asia Pacific and other emerging markets. Malaysia has been a key jurisdiction of focus for Valerie since 2004.  

She graduated with a first-class law degree from Cambridge University and is qualified to practise law in England & Wales, and Singapore. For over 10 years, she has been consistently ranked as a leading lawyer in various legal directories, including Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500 and IFLR1000.

and many more..