Jessica Sidhu
Malaysiakini
19 Sep 2015

Kevin Morais was a pure professional, highly ethical, very hardworking and humble. He possessed no ego of any form.

In his work he was very thorough, often asking as many questions as it required to understand every permutation completely.

He took his work as a prosecutor very seriously, often missing meals, and constantly suffered from red watery eyes from reading law through the night.

He gave his all to the cases he took on and sometimes when witnesses turned hostile or the case went awry for reasons beyond Kevin’s control, it affected him deeply. It hurt him to talk about those cases.

You see, Kevin was married to his work. He had no social life. He took on cases others left behind as if they were too complicated. His dedication to serve justice was uppermost in his mind. He endeavoured to make sense, get a thorough grasp so he could fight for justice.

He had an excellent command of English and loved trading witty puns with the equally competent.

Every time there was a meeting, staff of all rank and file would line up to shake his hand. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to greet and shake the hands of Tuan Kevin Morais.

From the gentle bow of their bodies to the deferential nod of their heads and they way they extended their hands like an offering, you could see the tremendous respect they held for him.

At some point Kevin must have dispensed legal advice to them or their colleagues or bosses or perhaps just provided sheer kindness to them.

Despite being extremely busy, Kevin always had time for those who sought him. He was humble and approachable.

He took the time to explain things slowly and made sure they understood perfectly, trying as it may be to those without legal training.

Kevin was the kind of person who cared to take the time to explain.

I often told him, “Kevin, these men hold a tremendous measure of respect for you. This is far more valuable than any Datuk or Tan Sri title.”

In his usual deprecating manner he would just laugh it off and say, “Oh Jess, you so flatter me.”

Kevin was a peaceful soul. He always believed in the goodness of people. It never ceased to amaze me how devastated he would be of he found out how bad or guilty they were. In his trademark, hand over the mouth, he would just keep saying, “No, no, please… Not him, too!”

It amazes me that he was so innocent even after years of practicing his profession, choosing to believe good over evil. Gentle as a dove was his blessed heart.

I hold him very dear in my heart and not a day has gone by, since his disappearance that I’ve not broken down. My constant question to God is, “Why Kevin, God? Why?”

My only answer is that the Angels in Heaven wanted him back where he belonged.

JESSICA SIDHU used to be attached to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.