On 1 December 2008, Roger Tan retired as the Bar Council webmaster and in doing so closed a chapter on the beginnings of the Bar Council website. It will now have to continue its majestic flight without its founder. And though I hope that the three IT executives, Kelvin Lee, A Ezane Mansor B Obaid and Lau Chern Loong who have been assigned to take over can measure up to the standard Roger strove to maintain if not raise the bar higher every day, and I don’t mean to disrespect in saying this, but I doubt it. For myself, nobody can really ever replace Roger, just as no substitute parent will ever really replace the natural one. And though I am sure that many of us at the Bar want Roger to stay on, the truth is he is tired and needs a break. He, more than most of those at the Bar Council, has not just earned it but deserves it.
Not many outside the Bar would know of Roger. They would if they came to the Bar Council website and paid close attention to the amount of effort and thought that went into each day’s offering. Though I cannot claim to know him well enough as I would like to, in our too few dealings with each other I know him to be a faultlessly pleasant, hugely talented, dedicated, intelligent, meticulous and warm man. He is one of those you would always want on your team. In having the foresight, ability and drive to set it up all by himself (for free by the way), to me he will rank as one of the all time Bar Council greats for his invaluable contribution in setting up the Bar Council website.
So enjoy your retirement Roger as Bar Council webmaster, it is most deserved and we will miss you. But thankfully we need not miss him too much since we can take pleasure in his reflections and considerations at his blogs at: Voice of Reason and Roger Tan.