The Catholic Lawyers’ Society of Kuala Lumpur celebrated its 30^th Anniversary with a dinner & dance event on the 7^th of December 2024 at the Kristal Ballroom, Petaling Jaya Hilton, Petaling Jaya, Selangor with the theme “Celebrating 30 years of Spiritus Legis”. The guests came dressed resplendent in accordance with the theme, White & Gold, an apt theme coinciding with Christmas.

It was certainly a glitzy affair with the attendance of many VIP’s namely Most Rev. Archbishop Julian Leow, Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia, His Excellency Most Rev. Archbishop Wojciech Zaluski, Minister and Consul General of Republic of Philippines, the Honourable Mr. Roussel R. Reyes, Consul General of the Republic of Vanuatu Dr. Henry Savarimuthu & his wife, May Phuah and YB Teresa Kok who graced the event with their presence.

The evening began with an opening gambit, a beautiful heart-warming song, “When A Child is Born” followed by an energetic performance by a group of seven young children who performed a fast version of “Winter Wonderland” taken from the movie Pitch Perfect 2 giving the event a festive vibe.                                                       The speeches delivered by the President of the Society, Mr. Stanislaus Cross, Most Rev. Archbishop Julian Leow and the Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Society, Rev. Father Gregory Chan and the Organizing Chairman, Mr. Francis Pereira respectively, left an impactful effect on the guests in attendance with their meaningful and strong messages and aspirations for the Society.

There was also a solemn moment with a photo montage presentation to honour and pay tribute to our founders, past Presidents and members of the Society who sadly left us to be with the Lord. There was also a special moment commemorating 30 years of the Society with a cake-cutting ceremony by the current and past Presidents of the Society.

Simon D’Cruz being the emcee for the night kept the audience in high spirits and the major highlight was the giving away of the Lucky Draw prizes to 10 lucky winners, the main prize being a 3 days 2 nights stay at Langkawi so generously sponsored by the Consul General of the Republic of Vanuatu. A brief promotional tourism video of the Republic of Vanuatu was also played to interest the guests in visiting the Republic of Vanuatu in future.

The band LA Viva left the guests mesmerized with astounding music getting them all hyped up and in good spirits the entire night and keeping them entertained.

On all the 40 tables in the Kristal Ballroom of PJ Hilton where the event was held, you could see camaraderie among the guests as they dined and spoke over a scrumptious 8 course meal accompanied by wine and drinks.

This year, besides the admirable and tireless effort demonstrated by the young lawyers’ team of the Society in contributing to the success of the event, there was an extra layer of youthful vibrancy and excitement as 14 children and youths from the Myanmar Community Learning Centre were warmly welcomed into this grand anniversary celebration to share the festive joy and blessings together with the Society, all generously sponsored by senior learned members of the Society. A sponsored goodie bag filled with treats and surprises was also prepared for each of them.

In past anniversaries, the Society has also joyfully included the deaf community and Orang Asli students in its celebrations. Some of the initiatives successfully undertaken by the Society included raising of vital funds for projects and cases focused on protection of children and in support of welfare organization providing nursing care for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS, especially those who were disabled.

All in all, this was a night to remember and cherish for years to come. One for the books, they say.