Why I Expect a Disciplinary Body to Act on Complaints – Even Imperfect Ones

 

A parent’s duty vs. a regulator’s duty

If I heard any rumour about my children, I would check it out with them immediately. That is basic parental responsibility.  So why should we expect less from a professional disciplinary body whose entire purpose is to protect the public and uphold standards in the legal profession?

In March 2023, I sent a detailed complaint to the Sabah Advocates Disciplinary Board (SADB) regarding what I believed was clear misrepresentation by a law firm. Here is what I wrote:

 

Dear Sirs,

On 25.11.2022 I received a Notice of demand from Messrs. Ronny Cham & Co.

The letter says ‘We act for Rosemary Ahping and Della E.Sinidol of Lembaga Pembangunan Perumahan Dan Bandar (LPPB).’

I wrote several emails to Puan Rosemary… and telephoned the head of the legal department of LPPB, Puan Cristilla Korok, who informed me that Messrs. Ronny Cham & Co is not in their panel of lawyer.

Sirs, this is tantamount to misrepresentation.

Please take this complaint seriously and investigate this matter and take action against the legal firm.

Kindly confirm receipt of this email.

I attached the relevant correspondence and copied relevant government officers. This was not a vague rumour. It was a specific, evidence-backed allegation that a law firm had falsely claimed to represent a government-linked body.

 

The Board’s reply the next day (3 March 2023):  “Please kindly fill up the Registration form to lodge a complaint. Kindly read the SADB guidelines and follow the requirements of filing a complaint.”

No acknowledgement of the substance. No request for clarification. Just “fill the form.”

More than two years later, in September 2025, I tried again — this time requesting a waiver of the RM100 filing fee because I have been unemployed since 2014 and live on B40 assistance. Their response:

 

“We refer to your email and would like to inform you that the filing fee is only RM100.00… Please kindly submit your complaint together with your supporting documents (all in quadruplicate) to the Disciplinary Board office.”

 

As recently as 8 April 2026, I wrote directly to the secretary, Puan Nadia Fong, repeating my request for a fee waiver as a B40 SARA recipient. To date, there has been no reply.

The Core Issue

A disciplinary body is not a court. It is not required to conduct a full trial on every tip it receives. But it does have a duty of care — exactly like a responsible parent. When credible information reaches it (especially when a member of the public takes the trouble to write a detailed letter with attachments), the bare minimum expected is:

Acknowledge receipt. 

Make a quick preliminary assessment: “If true, could this amount to misconduct?” 

Either investigate discreetly or guide the complainant properly on what is genuinely missing.

 

Dismissing or endlessly delaying on procedural technicalities — wrong form, not in quadruplicate, fee not paid, etc. — is not “following the rules.” It is using rules as a shield to avoid doing the job the public expects them to do.

Rules exist for good reasons. They should not become an excuse for institutional inertia.

Fair Expectations

I do not expect the Board to punish any lawyer on my word alone. I expect them to check. Promptly. Proportionately. Privately. That is not an unreasonable demand. It is the minimum standard any profession that claims to be self-regulating should meet.

If regulators treat every complaint from an ordinary citizen as an inconvenience to be batted away with forms and fees, public trust in the entire disciplinary system collapses. People will simply stop reporting misconduct — and the profession will be poorer for it.

My children deserve a parent who checks when something is wrong.

The public deserves a disciplinary board that does the same when serious allegations about its members surface.

I am still waiting for that basic standard to be met.

This is not about one delayed complaint. It is about principle. If you have had similar experiences with professional disciplinary bodies in Malaysia (or anywhere), feel free to share in the comments. Names and details can be kept private if preferred.