Guest Of Honour
The Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Zainun Binti Ali
PSM, PJN, SMJ, KMN
The Right Honourable Justice Tan Sri Datuk Zainun Ali read law and obtained a Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB)(Hons) at the University of Malaya Faculty of Law and thereafter obtained her Masters of Law degree (LLM)(Cantab) from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. 

Her Ladyship has held various positions in the legal and judicial service. In 1976, she was appointed as legal officer of the Ministry of Labour and Attorney General's Chambers. She was appointed in January 1979 as magistrate in Malacca and became president of the Session Court in Johor Bahru in December 1981. 

In the mid- to late 1980s, she was senior federal counsel to several government units, including the Ministry of Defence (November 1985) and the Prime Minister’s Department (March 1988). 

She was named Chief Registrar of the Federal Court of Malaysia in November 1994 and Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur in August 1996. She served as High Court Judge in Shah Alam Johor and Kuala Lumpur from 1998 to 2001. In 2006, she was elevated to be Court of Appeal Judge, Malaysia and served until 2012.

In recognition of her outstanding public service, Tan Sri Datuk Zainun was awarded Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) in 1991, Setia Mahkota Johor (SMJ) in 2001, Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) in 2002 and Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) in 2015.

In addition, she has been a member of the Board of Advisory of the University of Malaya’s Faculty of Law, Board of Studies at Ahmad Ibrahim Kuliyyah of Law, International Islamic University and Judicial & Legal Services Association (JALSOA).

Tan Sri Datuk Zainun is currently a Federal Court Judge in Malaysia.

Hamdi Abdullah
Partner
Zul Rafique & Partners
Hamdi Abdullah is a partner in the Energy & Utilities practice group. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class) from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) and was the recipient of IIUM's Lembaga Tabung Haji Award in 1992. He was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1993.

Prior to re-joining practice, he served with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and was part of the team instrumental in setting up the Islamic Instruments Study Group of the SC. Having also spent 5 years as an in-house counsel and as a business executive, he was involved in implementing numerous interesting projects and brings to the legal practice a commercial outlook and a deep understanding of a client's mindset. 

Hamdi’s corporate practice experience is varied and includes regulatory advisory, foreign direct investments, private finance initiative, corporate finance and sukuks.

Wong Keat Ching
Partner
Zul Rafique & Partners
Wong Keat Ching is a partner in the Employment & Industrial Relations practice group. She graduated from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Arts in Law and subsequently obtained her Certificate in Legal Practice in Malaysia. She was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya on 20 November 1998. Keat Ching now serves on the Bar Council’s Industrial Law Committee. 

At ZUL RAFIQUE & partners, Keat Ching handles a litigation portfolio of civil and industrial relations matters, representing employees and trade unions at the Labour Court, Industrial Court, High Court and Court of Appeal and Federal Court. Keat Ching has advised on various corporate restructuring matters affecting employees / union’s interests. To add value to her legal services, Keat Ching also conducts seminars and training on IR / employment issues for her clients.

Keat Ching is the co-author of the Malaysia chapter of Global Legal Insights Employment & Labour Law, 2nd Edition.

Raymond Mah
Managing Partner
MahWengKwai & Associates
Raymond Mah is the Managing Partner of MahWengKwai & Associates. His primary area of practice is in Dispute Resolution, including civil and commercial litigation, construction arbitration and adjudication, and land related disputes.

Raymond graduated from the University of Queensland, Australia with a double Bachelor of Economics and Laws (Honours Class I) in 2003 and completed his Certificate of Legal Practice in 2004. Raymond was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 2005. He thereafter commenced legal practice with MahWengKwai & Associates and gained invaluable experience from working closely with his father Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai, until the latter’s appointment to the High Court in 2010 and Court of Appeal in 2012.

Raymond qualified in 2012 as a Certified Adjudicator and is empanelled as an Adjudicator with the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). He has been recognised by Legal 500 and Asialaw Profiles in the areas of Dispute Resolution and Real Estate & Construction. Raymond was also selected as one of Asian Legal Business’ 40 Under 40 brightest young legal minds in 2015.

Lim Jo Yan
Partner and Head of the Corporate & Commercial Practice Group
MahWengKwai & Associates
Lim Jo Yan is a Partner and Head of the Corporate & Commercial Practice Group at MahWengKwai & Associates. He advises on mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and corporate and commercial transactions. He is particularly interested in private equity, venture capital, crowdfunding and fintech.

After graduating from Oxford University, Jo Yan practised as a litigator before becoming an advisory and transactional lawyer. He is passionate about finding solutions to legal issues. His work is recognised by the Legal 500, IFLR1000 and AsiaLaw Profiles in the areas of Corporate and M&A. Jo Yan was also named as the Young Lawyer of the Year at the ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2016 earlier this year.

Roshni Subapanditha
Sales Specialist for Enhanced Due Diligence
Thomson Reuters
Roshni Subapanditha is Sales Specialist for Enhanced Due Diligence, Thomson Reuters, Southeast Asia and is based out of Hong Kong. She is a law graduate from the University of Wales and has been working in the field of risk management and compliance for over 7 years.She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry with her last role being with The Red Flag Group and has dealt with a variety of clients within the financial, health-care, technology and logistics industry. They consisted of multi-national corporations with many of them being under the fortune 500 list. Prior to RFG, she spent a number of years at I-On Asia Limited, a due diligence firm, initially as a Researcher before working her way up to Senior Manager.

Chuah Hooi Bien
Legal Director (Malaysia & Brunei)
GlaxoSmithKline
Hooi Bien is the Legal Director (Malaysia & Brunei) at GlaxoSmithKline.  Hooi Bien graduated with a LLB (Honours) from the University of Leicester in 1996 and was admitted to the English Bar at Middle Temple in 1997.  She was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1998, and went on to obtain a Master in Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde in 2004 and qualified as a Licensed Company Secretary in 2010.  

Hooi Bien’s professional legal experience includes private practice and in-house positions with GSK, Shell Malaysia and UCB Asia Pacific. 

Currently heading the GSK Malaysia legal team which provides legal and company secretarial support to businesses in pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare, vaccines, manufacturing and global shared services, she is also a member of the GSK Pharmaceutical Malaysia Leadership Team, Risk Management Compliance Board, Disciplinary Committee, Third Party Oversight Committee,  Medical Governance Committee, Grants and Donation Committee, and the International Advisory Panel for the GSK Legal Operations International team.  She is also a coach under the company’s Future Leaders Programme and Emerging Leaders Forum.

Hooi Bien’s most recent achievement is the recognition as the In-House Counsel of the Year in the recent ALB South East Asia Law Awards 2016 and ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2016 respectively. The GSK Malaysia Legal team was also a finalist for the In-House Legal team (Malaysia) category.

NORDIANA BINTI IDRIS
VICE PRESIDENT I, HEAD, LEGAL DEPARTMENT
ALLOYMTD GROUP OF COMPANIES
Ms. Nordiana binti Idris joined AlloyMtd Group as Vice President, Head, Legal Department on 1 November 2010 and was appointed as Vice President l, Head, Legal Department on 1 October 2014.

Ms. Nordiana holds a Bachelor of Law. Before joining AlloyMtd Group, she worked for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad from 2009 to 2010, where she held position as Legal Manager.

Currently pursuing her Master in International Business. Ms. Nordiana has led the Group’s Legal team over more than five years and counting. A believer in lean and mean concept, the core objective for the team is providing high-end legal services to maximize customer values within a limited business risks. An advocate of Theory Y, Ms. Nordiana asserts that people have the capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organizational problems thus enabling her team to grow and develop.

Khairuddin bin Yahya
Legal Director & Company Secretary
Avon Cosmetics (M) Sdn Bhd
Khairuddin has aggregated more than 22 years of experience as in-house counsel and is currently the Legal Director & Company Secretary for Avon Cosmetics (M) Sdn Bhd. His responsibilities include legal counsel for Avon offices in Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. His primary contributions include providing quality, consistent service, keeping a tab on costs, having a good client interaction His guiding philosophy has always been to serve as a trusted counsel for the company’s senior management, regardless of what location they are in. Specifically, Khairuddin’s expertise in protecting the interests of the company and its stakeholders lies in the following :-

• Business-related legal issues; and
• Compliance with FCPA, Code of Conduct and Ethics, policies and with the laws in the countries under his care.

He is also active in Non Governmental Organization and is currently:-

• The EXCO of the Malaysian Franchise Association (“MFA”)
• Chairman of the Membership Sub-Committee of MFA;
• Board Member of the Malaysian Direct Selling Association;

He was formerly the Chairman/Board member of the Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia and EXCO of the Malaysian Corporate Counsels Association.

Sukhjit Gill 
General Counsel & LCM
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd 
Sukhjit Gill has headed the Legal & Compliance department in Mercedes-Benz Malaysia from September 2013, with responsibility for Legal Affairs & Integrity. Her role as the General Counsel and Local Compliance Manager of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia involves providing legal advice to the local management and the development and maintenance of a corporate culture of integrity within the entity and its dealer network. After completing a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) & Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) at the University of Otago in New Zealand in 2005, she was called to the bar in both Malaysia and New Zealand. While working as a lawyer, she attended an additional course of studies at the University of Victoria, New Zealand and gained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) specializing in commercial law and international arbitration, in 2010.

Benita Meagher
Legal Product Specialist
Thomson Reuters
Benita Meagher is a Legal Product Specialist with Thomson Reuters Singapore; responsible for the on-site implementation, development, training and adoption of legal software solutions for the ASEAN region. She received a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree from University College Dublin and holds a Diploma in Commercial law and Family law from the Law Society of Ireland.  Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Benita worked as a Solicitor in private practices throughout Ireland and in-house as Legal Counsel in Paris. She is on the Solicitors’ Rolls of Ireland, England and Wales. 

Nik Azli Abu Zahar
Executive Counsel
Malaysia Airlines Berhad