Description
This seminar aims to explore the issues and challenges faced by the charitable sector in Malaysia and Singapore. In Malaysia, the government has conducted and completed a study on the need for a Charities Act and other related statutes to regulate the sector more effectively. The study aimed to assess governance challenges and address the misuse of charitable funds. Singapore, on the other hand, has implemented several policies and strategies to become an Asian philanthropic hub. These initiatives are part of the Singapore Government’s ambition to develop philanthropic services to cater to the burgeoning number of family offices located in the city state and attract international philanthropic funds to the country.
Programme
| Time | Agenda |
| 2:30 pm | Opening Address
by Farah Deba Mohamed Sofian, Partner, Wong Lu Peen & Tunku Alina, STEP Chairperson |
| 2:45 pm | Singapore’s Ambition to Become an Asian Philanthropic Hub
by Dr Tang Hang Wu, Professor, Yong Pung How School of Law; Associate Provost (Research Governance), Singapore Management University
|
3:15 pm
| Recent Developments in Charity Law in Malaysia: Part 1
by Dr Zuraidah Haji Ali, Associate Professor, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws, International Islamic University of Malaysia
|
| 3:45 pm | Tea Break
|
| 4:00 pm | Recent Developments in Charity Law in Malaysia: Part 2
by Dr Punitha Silivarajoo, Deputy Director General for Policy and Development, Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department |
| 4:30 pm | Panel Discussion
Moderator: Farah Deba Mohamed Sofian
Panellists:
(1) Dr Tang Hang Wu
(2) Dr Zuraidah Haji Ali
(3) Dr Dr Punitha Silivarajoo |
| 5:00 pm | End |
Speaker
Dr Tang Hang Wu, Professor, Yong Pung How School of Law; Associate Provost (Research Governance), Singapore Management University
Dr Tang Hang Wu researches on the law of property, wealth management, charity and non-profits and equity and trusts. Hang Wu is on the advisory board of the International Charity Law Network. He has published widely and is a co-editor of Trusts and Private Wealth Management and Trusts (2022) and Trust and Modern Wealth Management (2018) published by Cambridge University Press. In addition to his academic work, he is often instructed as counsel and expert witness by Singapore and international law firms. He co-heads the trust and private wealth desk at TSMP Law Corporation, a boutique Singapore practice.
Dr Zuraidah Haji Ali, Associate Professor, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws, International Islamic University of Malaysia
Dr Zuraidah Haji Ali has actively contributed to various research projects in her areas of expertise, including trust law, injunctions, remedy, governance, integrity, charities and non-profit organisations. In the past year, she participated in two research grants funded by BHEUU, focusing on the Charity Act, the Charity Commission and Act 258, as well as a project funded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (“MACC”). Zuraidah is accredited as a mediator by The Accord Group in Australia and has held several leadership roles at the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, such as Library Coordinator, Head of its Private Law and Civil Law Departments, and Assistant Director of the Law and Syariah Unit at the IIUM Academy. She currently serves as the Director of the Harun M Hashim Law Centre.
Dr Punitha Silivarajoo, Deputy Director General for Policy and Development, Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department
Dr Punitha Silivarajoo is responsible for issues pertaining to policy, research and law reform under the Prime Minister’s Department and overall coordination of domestic human rights issues, among others. She was the secretary of the Taskforce for the Review of the Mandatory Death Penalty, and she chaired the implementation committee for the re-hearing of the 1020 death row and natural life prisoners. She was the secretary of the Taskforce for the Review of the Malaysia Agreement (“MA”) 1963 which led to the constitutional amendments pertaining to MA 1963. Dr Punitha led the policy team for the development of the COVID-19 legislation for Malaysia in 2020.
In 2023, she led the policy team for the constitutional amendments for the anti-hopping provision and was instrumental in the amendments to the Penal Code (“PC”) and Criminal Procedure Code (“CPC”) on stalking and decriminalising attempted suicide, in which she chairs the implementation committee with related agencies. Recently, Dr Punitha was involved in the amendments to the PC and CPC on mule accounts and cyberbullying. She also led the policy team for the amendments to the Trustees Act 1949 and Trustees Incorporation Act 1952 to include provisions on beneficial ownership. Dr Punitha was also one of the spokesperson for the Financial Action Taskforce (“FATF”). She also led the policy team for the amendments to the constitution and the development of the Parliamentary Services Bill.
Dr Punitha is currently an associate with the International Institute for Public Management at Universiti Malaya and a supervisor for the Masters in Sustainable Development Programme with the Jeffrey Sachs Centre for Sustainable Development at Sunway University. Dr Punitha holds a PhD in Policy and Law from Imperial College London.
Moderator
Farah Deba Mohamed Sofian, Partner, Wong Lu Peen & Tunku Alina, STEP Chairperson
Farah Deba has been in legal practice for more than 30 years. She is currently a partner in Wong Lu Peen & Tunku Alina. Her main focus past 25 years has been in inheritance and succession laws affecting Muslims and non-Muslims. Farah provides a full range of legal services spanning from trust and estate planning, administration to distribution, family business succession across generations with multi-jurisdictional asset base. Her services include advising clients on Labuan private wealth structures and also for philanthropic purposes.
Terms and Conditions
Event Policy
Places are limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration for this session will close on 11 Apr 2025 (Friday), at 12:00 pm.
For events with registration fees, all payments must be made in advance, including bank charges. Registration will be confirmed once proof of payment is provided by email or fax, and full payment is received.
The organiser reserves the right to modify, cancel or postpone the event, should circumstances arise that make such action necessary, whereupon all registration fees paid will be refunded.
Cancellation
Cancellations must be made in writing.
Please note that there will be no refunds for cancellations, but substitutions are allowed. Kindly inform us in writing with the relevant details at least three days in advance.
If you have failed to inform the organiser on your cancellation for three consecutive times, you may be blacklisted for future events.
Transferal
You are allowed to transfer your place to another participant, but you must notify the organiser with the necessary details at least three days in advance.
Attendance
CPD points for CPD Scheme will not be awarded to lawyers and pupils in chambers from Peninsular Malaysia who arrive more than 15 minutes late, are not present throughout the event, or leave before its scheduled end.
Privacy
The personal information that you provide to the Bar Council, whether now or in the future, may be used, recorded, stored, disclosed or otherwise processed by or on behalf of the Bar Council for the purposes of facilitation and organisation of this event, research and audit, maintenance of a participant database for the promotion of this event, and such ancillary services as may be relevant.
Disclaimer
- Materials (if any) will be emailed only. No printed notes will be provided.
- No recording of the event is permitted via any means at any time.
- No part of the event content may be used / reproduced in any form without the written and explicit consent of the Bar Council and speaker(s).
