Monday 8 March 2010

‘I only agreed to be AG for two years’

A day after news broke that he was leaving office after completing a single term as Attorney-General (AG), Professor Walter Woon said he had always known that he would return to teaching.

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Guanyu said...

‘I only agreed to be AG for two years’

Ong Dai Lin, TODAY
05 March 2010

A day after news broke that he was leaving office after completing a single term as Attorney-General (AG), Professor Walter Woon said he had always known that he would return to teaching.

In a press statement issued by the AG’s Chambers, Prof Woon said: “I only agreed to do this job for two years. I kept my room at the (law) faculty all these years in the expectation that I would go back eventually.”

After his term of office expires on April 10, Prof Woon will return to the law faculty in the National University of Singapore to resume his teaching appointment. He will concurrently become the first Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education.

“At this point of my life, I think that I can make a more significant contribution through teaching and writing. I have accumulated a wide range of experiences, which I would like to pass on.

“We will see more and more foreign-trained lawyers in Singapore. We must make sure that our own people receive the best training we can give so that they can compete,” he said.

On a more personal note, Prof Woon said he would have more flexibility to spend more time in Cambridge where his sons are studying and visit international law institutions in Europe and the United States.

Said Prof Woon: “International law is one of the key areas that we are devoting resources to in order to raise Singapore’s profile as a centre of intellectual activity.”

He described his experience in the AG’s Chambers as “extremely interesting and educational, though also very taxing”.

“As to what my achievements are, I will leave it to others to judge.”

Prof Woon added: “I leave secure in the knowledge that we have a good team in Chambers and that the system works.”

The incoming AG, Senior Counsel Sundaresh Menon, will take over the position from Oct 1 - after he has cleared other commitments - for the usual initial term of two years.

Solicitor-General Koh Juat Jong will serve as Acting AG from April 11 to Sept 30.