ANNOUNCEMENT
July 28, 2015
Press Release: Director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration awarded honorary degree
*KLRCA would like to congratulate its Director, Datuk Professor Sundra Rajoo on his recent recognition of being conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom
Press Release
Datuk Professor Sundra Rajoo, the Director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from the Leeds Beckett University.
A former President of the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group and recently elected President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) for the year 2016, Sundra is a chartered arbitrator and an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaysia (Non Practising).
He holds a Masters degree in Construction Law and Arbitration from Leeds Beckett and, in addition to lecturing at a number of universities worldwide; he has also authored and co-authored a wealth of publications.
Sundra was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the School of Built Environment and Engineering on July 23 for his contribution to law.
Upon receiving the honour from Sir Robert Murray, the university’s Chancellor, he said: “My days in higher education were among my most memorable. It was a time of significant change, social revolution and meteoric expansion in Higher Education. I became part of the buzzing community at Leeds. A community that was full of exuberance, solidarity and fearlessness to reach the upper echelons of their respective fields.”
“It was then that I first understood how many of one’s achievements come from the inspiration, collaboration and support of many other people, colleagues and friends.”
Speaking to the graduating students, he added: “Your professors have equipped you with the most powerful instrument on earth. They have taught you how to think, to analyze and keep learning all the rest of your lives. You have been cultivated and have been educated. Go forth and create something. Improve something. Set positive precedence for posterity. Change peoples lives for the better. Change the world.”
A winner of the Annual Prize from the North-East Branch of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Sundra has addressed many different types of disputes over a range of subject matters.
He has degrees in five different academic disciplines spanning ‘Housing, Building and Planning’, ‘Architecture’, ‘Town Planning’, ‘Construction Law and Arbitration’ and ‘Philosophy in Law’, and has served the Malaysian arbitral landscape with great distinction.
Leeds Beckett University Vice Chancellor, Professor Susan Price, said: “Sundra Rajoo’s passionate involvement and ceaseless contribution towards the alternative dispute resolution system in his native country has made his name synonymous with the renaissance of Malaysia’s arbitration landscape in recent years. We are delighted to recognise Sundra’s contribution to law with this Honorary Doctorate.”
The ceremony took place at the University’s Headingly Campus.