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SINGAPORE : Singapore needs to step up its efforts in developing talents with international law expertise. That is the view of Professor S Jayakumar, who recently stepped down as Law Minister.
He said many lawyers today are focused on domestic law. So the current Law Minister K Shanmugam has asked him to help beef up talents in international law, Professor Jayakumar added.
He said previously the Pedra Branca case was not the only instance where Singapore increasingly has to pay attention to international law.
"We need to expose them to more areas where they'll broaden their experience and expertise. But we should also rope in people from the private sector and the universities, academics..." he said.
In fact, Professor Jayakumar added that if not for being in politics, he would have worked with friends from the region to form a panel of international lawyers. Another thing he would have done differently is liberalising the legal services earlier.
He said, "I wish we had done it 10 years, 5 years ago, because now I think we have a narrow window, although better late than never. I see a bright future for our legal services sector.
"Why? Because the whole region in Asia is going to grow. With growth, you're going to have tremendous need for legal services."
On Mr Shanmugam taking over as Law Minister, Professor Jayakumar said his challenge will be in finding solutions that would suit Singapore's changing circumstances.
He also recalled how he talent-spotted Mr Shanmugam, who was once his law student.
Professor Jayakumar said, "I could tell that he was an exceptionally bright student and that he would have a very bright future. So I invited Shanmugam to my Ministry of Home Affairs office for a chat. I asked him, 'how about joining politics?'
"He almost fell off his chair. He said, 'why me?', because he was interested in law practice. So I said, 'Look, that was the same response when I was asked when I was in the university, why me?' I wanted to be a law professor for the rest of my life. He responded that he would be prepared to serve."
Now that Mr Shanmugam has achieved his ambition to be a top lawyer in Singapore, Professor Jayakumar is glad that his former student is now in cabinet.
And stepping down as Law Minister does not mean Professor Jayakumar now has more free time on his hands.
Instead, he said he will be channelling his focus to other areas such as his role as Coordinating Minister for National Security and foreign policy issues like international legal negotiations. - CNA/ms
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