John Chan

– SENIOR ASSOCIATE–

John graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 2013 and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 2014.

Having completed his pupillage in MahWengKwai & Associates under the guidance of Mr Raymond Mah, he joined MahWengKwai & Associates as an Associate in 2014.

John continues his practice with MahWengKwai & Associates in the areas of employment and labour law, contractual, and commercial disputes, debt recovery, joint management body and management corporation disputes, company law and general litigation.

In 2019, the Firm recognized John as a Senior Associate.

In a recent 2019 Asialaw Profiles survey, John received the following client feedback:

“John was a good communicator on the projected timeline for workflow and regular provision of updates was helpful.”

Career to date

2019   Senior Associate, MahWengKwai & Associates

2014   Associate, MahWengKwai & Associates

2014   Called to the Malaysian Bar

2013   Pupil-in-Chambers, MahWengKwai & Associates

Affiliations

• Bar Council Sports Committee
• Bar Council National Young Lawyers and Pupils Committee (NYLPC)
• Old Georgians Association (OGA)
• Asian Law Students’ Association (ALSA)

Educational achievements

2013  Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Particular litigation experience

Industrial relations and employment

• Representing companies and employees in industrial relations/unfair dismissal disputes arising from issues of poor performance, misconduct, sexual harassment, breach of fiduciary duty and retrenchment, Industrial Court.
• Claim for damages arising from employees’ breach of confidentiality and fiduciary duties, High Court.

Commercial and corporate litigation

• Shareholders and directorship disputes arising from friendly loan agreements, shareholders agreements and general meeting resolutions, High Court, Court of Appeal, Federal Court.
• Disputes arising from breach of contract, Magistrate’s Court, Sessions Court, High Court, Court of Appeal.
• Disputes arising from unjust enrichment and negligence against banks, High Court.
• Debt recovery for domestic and foreign companies, Magistrate’s Court, Sessions Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.

Other civil litigation

• Claims by Joint Management Bodies/Management Corporations against developers to recover management funds and vacant possession of common property, High Court, Court of Appeal, Federal Court.
• Strata management disputes arising from determination of maintenance charges rates, High Court, Court of Appeal, Federal Court.
• Defending against claims for property under oral and implied trusts, High Court, Court of Appeal.
• Disputes arising from the validity and authenticity of wills, High Court.
• Disputes arising from trespass and private nuisance, High Court.
• Judicial reviews against the National Registration Department’s decision to refuse citizenship to an adopted child, High Court, Court of Appeal, Federal Court.
• Winding-up of companies, High Court.

Criminal litigation

• Criminal matters relating to tax evasion, cheating, criminal breach of trust, causing wrongful loss to a public listed company, Magistrate’s Court, Sessions Court, High Court, Court of Appeal.

Particular advisory experience

• Advising on termination of employees.
• Advising on implementation of retrenchment, pay cuts and voluntary separation schemes.
• Advising on employees’ minimum retirement age law and principles.
• Advising and reviewing of employment contracts, policies and handbooks.
• Advising on disciplinary proceedings/procedures between employers and employees. 
• Advising on shareholders’ and directors’ rights and remedies.
• Advising and representing non-profit organisations on wildlife conservation and anti-trafficking legislation.
• Advising on strata management matters and disputes.
• Advising on Bursa Malaysia’s requirements and insider trading.
• Advising on legislation and procedures relating to extradition.

Reported cases

• Chai Fui Mien & Anor v Notre Dame Nursery Sdn Bhd & Ors [2015] 1 LNS 1394 (High Court)
• Konsortium Lord-Saberkat Sdn Bhd v Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd and another appeal [2016] 6 MLJ 186 (Court of Appeal)
• Prima Avenue and DPC (Block G, H, 1) Management Corporation v Puncak Kencana Sdn Bhd & Ors [2016] MLJU 1448 (High Court)
• Pendaftar Besar Kelahiran dan Kematian, Malaysia v Pang Wee See & Anor [2017] 7 CLJ 33 (Court of Appeal)
• Chan Nga Guan v Cogdev Malaysia Sdn Bhd [2017] 2 ILR 294 (Industrial Court)
• Park Access Sdn Bhd & Ors v Badan Pengurusan Bersama Prima Avenue dan DPCC Fasa 1 (Blok G,H,I) and other appeals [2018] MLJU 647; [2018] 1 LNS 711 (Court of Appeal)
• Goh Jui Leang v Tay Sing Hwa [2018] MLJU 810; [2018] 1 LNS 828 (Court of Appeal)
• Ho Hau Wong & Ors v Tan Kim Chuan & Ors [2018] MLJU 907; [2018] 1 LNS 1001 (High Court)
• Rajaram Ramasamy v International Brass Industries Sdn Bhd [2018] 2 LNS 1774 (Industrial Court)
• Cheong Meng Wah & 2 Ors v My Social Network Sdn Bhd [2018] 2 LNS 3079 (Industrial Court)
• Ang Khean Ming v Wiko Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 0841 (Industrial Court)
• Muhamad Nazri Muhamad v JMB Menara Rajawali & Anor [2019] 10 CLJ 547; [2019] MLJU 1208 (Court of Appeal)
• Lim Su Shen v Kioda Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Award No.: 3223 of 2019 (Industrial Court)
• PJ Centrestage JMB v Cherish Springs Sdn Bhd & Anor And Another Case [2020] 1 LNS 525; [2020] MLJU 710 (High Court)

Reviews & Testimonials

• “We had the pleasure of engaging the services of MWKA to better understand the legal aspects of running our professional consultancy business, and we were given good and helpful advice. We want to extend our appreciation to John Chan and Janessa Kok whom we found most helpful and they go out of the way to make our engagement a pleasant one indeed. Thanks and keep up the good work.” – Perunding ACE Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
• “Our company would like to thank the team of MWKA, specifically Jasmine Wong, Diana Cheak and John Chan for helping our company on an Industrial Court case. They are very professional and efficient in handling our legal case, and have shown great professionalism throughout. They are also easily accessible and very accommodative to their client’s needs. We will recommend MWKA to other clients that need their services in the future.” – Anwar Liu, Business Development Director, Wiko Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Bangsar, KL)
• “I would like to thank the team of MWKA, specifically John Chan and Janessa Kok for helping me in my case where I was wrongfully terminated by my previous company. Despite being engaged at the last minute, they were very knowledgeable and capable in handling the matter, and have shown great professionalism throughout. I would definitely recommend them for their services.” – Rajaram
• “I also wish to convey my thanks and appreciation to John Chan, for a job well done and arriving at a satisfactory conclusion to my case. I embarked upon the action with some trepidation and was impressed by your manners and your patience in dealing with me especially on those occasions when I must have asked what could have been construed as pretty ‘silly’ questions.” – JC Tay
• “Our company has been working with Raymond and his team for the past year and they have been providing prompt and reliable legal responses to our business needs. They are not only a team of knowledgeable and competent advisors in our engagement, we have also received proactive check-ins to support and make our business decisions more complete from a local legal perspective. We would like to specially thank John Chan and Sue Ann for their hard work and dedication to our account such that we are always kept updated. Looking forward to even more success working together with them in 2019!” – Alex Tam, Head of Offline Unit, Paktor Pte Ltd, Singapore.
• “I am very pleased and impressed with MWKA’s services, professionalism and expertise. MWKA’s success in the defence of my case is excellent news to me. What a relief! My deepest appreciation to John Chan assisted by Wong Chee En and under the supervision and advice of Raymond Mah for their excellent handling of my case. I highly recommend MWKA to anyone in need of legal services and assistance. Thank you again and forever.” – Ngian Siew Siong, Selangor