Of Lawyers & Friendships

When I was growing up, I saw these names—David Marshall and Glenn Knight. Both were legendary lawyers, fiery and a force to be reckoned with. My mother was especially impressed with David Marshall. The family often talked about the Cambridge-educated Lee Kuan Yew and Prof Ahmad Ibrahim. 

I had applied to law school in NUS many moons ago (since my childhood dream to be a doctor was dashed) but I failed to get in. But this didn’t stop me from meeting David Marshall during an event held in law school. 

Through the years, I have met many lawyers (some of my good friends are one) but never Glenn Knight. I recently got in touch with him and was fangirling with one of the legal fraternity’s shining stars. He is also a Cambridge alumni, having studied in St John’s College. I also found out that David Marshall who was impressed with Glenn Knight’s ability had offered him a full partnership in his law firm which the latter declined. 

It was also lawyers Kevin Tan and TPB Menon who roped me on the book project about Puan Noor Aishah, Singapore’s First Lady. Since Singapore is so small, it’s no surprise that Hsuan Boon, my good friend from Oxford was colleagues with TPB Menon. And it was Kevin Tan who had believed in my Gedung Kuning book and helped me published it when no other publisher wanted to. 

Perhaps the younger generation may not have heard of Prof Ahmad Ibrahim who was Singapore’s first Attorney-General. I went to school with his grandsons—Ibrahim Tahir set up Wardah Books, while Iskandar Tahir is a lawyer. I have never met Prof Ahmad Ibrahim but celebrate his achievements vicariously through Iskandar and Ibrahim. 

Lee Kuan Yew unfortunately declined my invitation to write the foreword for ‘Mina meets Cambridge’ book but he handwritten a letter to me about ‘The Mango Tree’ book. 

Although I’ve met some crooked lawyers, there are many who are kind-hearted and dignified. I’m glad that my path has crossed with theirs.

Afternote: Glenn Knight passed away on 19 Feb 2025. To think that we met two weeks ago... Rest in peace, Singapore's legal eagle.