“For the first time, persons who complain about sexual harassment have direct access to a government body that will directly decide on the matter and also empowered to issue orders against the offender to set things right. There is no intermediary (e.g. police, social welfare department “JKM”, civil court procedures, public prosecutor)”

“The (Whistleblower Protection Act) 2010 established a framework that confers protection upon any person who in informs the authorities of a crime or wrongdoing that has happened or is about to happen, based on their reasonable belief.”

“Just because there is an ongoing civil claim between the parties or in respect of the property does not mean that you cannot be charged for misappropriating it from its rightful owner.”

“Lawyers are like any other profession that provides high value services. The value at stake is the liberty and reputation of yourself and your loved ones. A lawyer is expensive because that is how much he thinks he is worth, and he would likely have a good feel of how the market values his services. From your perspective, you should value the service in the context of how important such services are to you. If you think that your liberty is not important, don’t pay for it.”

“You actually do not need to “entertain” the police unless you are arrested or served a Section 111 notice. To know whether you are arrested, just ask them, “Am I under arrest?” or “Adakah saya ditangkap?” If the answer is no, then you can ignore them.”

“If the loss is money only, make sure that you have recovered a certain amount of the money before agreeing to tarik balik repot. There is no such thing as pre-signed and post-dated tarik balik reports. You can try statutory declarations, a different item entirely for the right context.”

“Call the IO and ask what you will be charged for, the number of charges and the location of the court. Do not assume that the charge will be under the same section as the section that your were “arrested for”. Sometimes the IO will just tell you to come to the IPD or Balai and not share details with you.”

How I found a firm to undergo pupillage.

“The IO is not obliged to give you legal advice, counselling, make you feel good or responsible, to guide you whether you should sue someone, to provide personal protection to you or be your bodyguard. The IO cannot be used as a middleman to settle a case between you and a suspect. It is just not his job.”

“It is hard enough for victims of crime to come forward to make police reports. There are social, economic and other barriers to doing so. They take risks and make sacrifices, lose friends and get stigmatized for doing so. The State does them no favours either, but it is the only entity that controls law enforcement. The least you can do as a Complainant is to educate yourself with your rights and be aware of what is going on with the case.”