Law Society Awards First Palakrishnan Memorial Scholarship

26 January 2007 was a special day for Ashok Kumar Rai, who became the first recipient of the Palakrishnan Memorial Scholarship.

The scholarship, established in 2004 in memory of our late past President, Mr R Palakrishnan, SC (1942–2003), is awarded to a student selected for his academic excellence, display of leadership qualities, contributions to community and financial need. The candidate must also be a Singapore citizen and be admitted to, or pursuing the Bachelor of Law (LLB) course at the National University of Singapore (‘NUS’).

Ashok attended the scholarship presentation ceremony at the Society with his parents and nephew. The ceremony was made more meaningful as the scholarship was given away by Mrs Palakrishnan.

Ashok, 25, who is in his first year of law studies at NUS, said he heard about the scholarship through his sister, a third year law undergraduate. ‘I’m really excited to be here today. There were a few tense moments after I applied for the scholarship, as I was not sure whether I would get it.’

For Ashok, the choice of law was a no brainer as ‘I’ve always enjoyed a good argument, and I am active in the NUS debating team as well as during my polytechnic days at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.’

Yes, Ashok’s path to law studies has not been a conventional one. He attended polytechnic first, then took his ‘A’ levels during national service and finally got into NUS. He says studying mass communications at the polytechnic has helped him be more certain of what he wants in life and also helped him realise where his strengths lie – logical thinking and being focused. During his studies in polytechnic, he felt even more drawn towards law as he felt a disconnect between his personality and the study of mass communications. Completing his ‘A’ levels as a top private candidate sealed his entry into law school.

For now, Ashok is busy with varsity life where he feels the competition in law school is very intense, and he is kept busy with lots of reading to do. He is not sure what his favourite subject is yet, although he enjoyed studying tort in the last semester. He has not fully decided what area of law he would like to specialise in eventually, and is currently torn between litigation and corporate law. ‘Corporate law has its appeal as one works on bigger deals and transactions, and one’s work will have greater repercussions on bigger groups of people.’

‘I’m really honoured to be able to meet the Palakrishnan family today. When I applied for this scholarship, I went to the Law Society website and read about Mr Palakrishnan, SC and I got a feel of the immense amount he’s done for the legal fraternity and I think he was really widely respected by the legal community.’

Ashok’s parents have always been supportive of him even though his father says, ‘This son of mine is always full of surprises. He has a mind of his own, and I can never force him to do the things that he does not want. But I’m happy he has obtained this scholarship and his mother and I will always support him all the way in whatever he chooses to do.’

And with that, it was time for the formal scholarship presentation ceremony. It was a significant moment for the Palakrishnan family too, who said, ‘Pala had great passion for the law and would have been happy that the scholarship founded in his memory would assist worthy individuals in their pursuit of the study of law.’

Sharmaine Lau

The Law Society of Singapore

L to R: Ashok Rai with Mrs Palakrishnan and Law Society President, 
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC

For more information on the Palakrishnan Memorial Scholarship Fund, please visit the Society’s website
www.lawsociety.org.sg, and click on ‘Membership Services’.