Empty chairs at empty tables* - Michael Ball

The above pic was taken at Sin Seng Nam during lunch time a couple of weeks ago. Yes, it's the Seng Nam - the lawyer's haunt! That's the place every KL litigation lawyer goes to for breakfast before and after attending court... and any breaks in between! After all, it is just a stone's throw away from the Sessions and Magistrate's Courts.

It's the place where i'd meet me boss (who then became my partner - partner of the legal firm, not that kind of partner) for nice chee cheong fun breakfast before attending court. It's the place where i'd meet up wif me mates after mentions and hearings. It's the place i go with witnesses and clients for a quick lunch of delicious chicken rice on trial days. It's the place where i'd meet other lawyers and make new frens. It's the place i'd take me secretary for chicken chop cuz she swears that it's the best in town.

Even before i became a lawyer, Seng Nam was the place to be for lawyers, for them to hang out - u'll see then, penguin-like in their black coats, some in their bibs, carrying files tied in pink ribbon, lugging around briefcases and huge pilot bags, looking stressed and overworked.

It was the place to eat roti bakar - toasted bread! That's because up til today, they use the big loaf breads and toast them over a coal fire!!! It's the place to eat chicken rice - the rice is simply yummy!!! It's the place to have a nice hot drink.

Ah... those were the days. I'd sit upstairs which was quieter and cooler and would have drink after drink, reading newspapers and chatting wif me "brothers and sisters in law". Hey, it's the expected thing to do! You dun rush back to office after your matter is done in court! Bosses know it too - and they'd close one eye. After all, they too were young lawyers at one point of time!!!

I've been around the country, attending hearings and mentions and while i've had tea and drinks at many places with other lawyers, none come close to the character that Seng Nam had.

Yes, "had".

The Subordinate Courts in KL have moved to their new multi million court complex. Yup, it costs us taxpayers millions. Too bad, most of the money were not used to build the court!!! As it is, it is falling apart even from the very first day - a fren was saying she's gonna walk around wearing a motorcycle helmet as a sign of protest - and for her own protection - after the ceiling at Datuk Malik Ishak's court came down a couple of weeks ago!!!

But i digress...

The shifting of the courts meant that it was not possible for lawyers to hang out at Seng Nam any longer. So it was wif mixed feelings when i sat in Seng Nam - a very quiet Seng Nam and ate me lunch surrounded by empty chairs at empty tables. It brought back wonderful memories and the food was still good (but RM6 for chicken rice?????). But the memories are of a different lifetime, another era. Seng Nam is no longer the lawyers' hang-out place, and with that, it has lost a huge piece of itself.

*The song sung by the character, Marice in the musical Les Miserables, near the end, as he thinks of all his fallen comrades