Lawyer, political secretary and civil rights activist Syahredzan Johan shares his journey as a champion for human rights

Syahredzan Johan never imagined that he would be a lawyer, despite always having had a keen interest in the legal system.

"I have my mother to thank for this," he admits. "I wanted to be a doctor at first and even got myself into the science stream during my SPM. But when I received my results… well, let’s just say that when I continued with my A-Levels, my mother persuaded me to take up the subjects for law instead. I loved it though and realised that I was good at it."

 

After finishing his Bachelor’s degree at Cardiff University in the UK, a 23 year-old Syahredzan joined RamRais & Partners (now known as Ram Caroline Sha & Syah) in the late 2000s. When asked about his decision to champion human rights, Syahredzan explains: “When I first started out, the political-legal landscape was still reeling from the effects from the judicial crisis in 1988. There was a hunger for change."

Along the way, he realised that being a lawyer was more than just cases and transactions - he saw it as an opportunity to contribute to society.

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One of the highlights of his career was defending activist Hishamuddin Rais, a case where he worked alongside Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan. When the Court of Appeal overturned the nine-month jail sentence in 2016, the people who had filled up the public gallery cheered and applauded. 

Although Syahredzan describes it as "an everyday case", he was awed and humbled by the public reaction. "He had a lot of supporters," he recalls. "It was humbling to see how our actions in court can have such a powerful effect on the people."

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One of the most influential people in his life is his father, Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar, the former chairman of Media Prima Berhad in 2009 and an accomplished journalist.

"Despite our differences in political opinions, my father has always encouraged his children to establish their own world views. He never stops us from discussing them and even told us to be unafraid of what others might think of them."

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My father taught me the invaluable lesson of following your heart and doing what’s right.

- Syahredzan Johan -

Another influential figure in his life was his mentor, the late Hariram Jayaram who was a founding partner of RamRais & Partners. "He taught me about integrity," says Syahredzan.

In 2018, he became the political secretary of Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. Of his foray into politics, he says: "I knew that there was going to be some strong opinions, and that one of the challenges was dealing with them. I look at it as a learning process and it helps that I have a lot of guidance and encouragement along the way."

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He is determined to see a future where laws involving human rights that go against ethical values be reviewed, amended or abolished. 

“I would love to see a collaborative effort between the government and the people. Ultimately, it's about executive accountability as well as checks and balances."

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Khairul Imran

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