I AM DEEPLY honored to be in the presence of esteemed justices, judges and lawyers in the ASEAN region. Whenever I am in a room full of lawyers, I am reminded of a question that was asked of me some time ago. The question goes, “What do you call one thousand lawyers tied together in the middle of an ocean?” The answer, “A good start.”
Levity aside, I am convinced that being in this room, in the presence of lawyers who are united in the ideal of ASEAN integration is, just like that old lawyer joke, a good start.