Karaoke, outdoors, reading, body-building

RECENTLY-appointed Chief Parliamentary Counsel (CPC) and Senior Counsel Charles Fung-A-

Fat Jnr. believes that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Though an astute attorney, who specializes in legislative drafting, Fung-A-Fat also has a very active personal life.

In a recent interview with the Pepperpot, Fung-A-Fat disclosed that he is a body-builder who has a knack for the outdoors and loves to sing Karaoke. The CPC explained that while he has a very hectic schedule and demanding career, he finds time weekly to spend with his family.
He believes that there must be balance and with balance there is success. “Yes, because of my career choice I have to dedicate much of my time to work, but I am of the opinion that it is important to be diverse.”

The CPC said body-building and exercise generally help him in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He accepted that it is a hobby but noted that it provides him with a “rejuvenating feeling”.
“When you exercise, your blood circulates better; at the end of it you feel refreshed and ‘ready to take on the world’ as they would say.” Currently, Fung-A-Fat is enrolled at the Fitness 53 gym owned by former Guyanese and West Indian cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan. He said he attends gym five times weekly and believes that persons need to take exercise seriously.

He posited that many don’t understand the importance exercise is to health and said he doesn’t see himself moving from the gym noting that he can deadlift 400lbs.
“I also love the outdoors,” he told Pepperpot gleefully as he disclosed some of his many adventures in the country’s vast hinterland region. At one time, Fung-A-Fat would every weekend, travel overland to varying areas with relatives.

“I enjoy traveling to the Rupununi and looking at the vast savannahs…I enjoy nature. While outdoor you get to see so many animals that you’d probably never knew were present in Guyana as well as many species of birds that are not even in the zoo.”
Fung-A-Fat, whose nickname is ‘Johnny,’ noted that being in the outdoor with his family was more of a family tradition as his father Justice Charles Fung-A-Fat Snr.j did so when he was a child. “It is like a tradition,” he said as he showcased photographs of himself while outdoors.
Another hobby of the CPC, a quite surprising one, is his love for singing. During the interview

he disclosed that he had a love for singing karaoke and once time permits, he visits Duke Lodge twice weekly to do same.

“I sing you know. Have you ever seen a Chinese sing? You’d be surprised, I sing almost every week and I enjoy it,” said Senior Counsel Fung-A-Fat. Being a lawyer some would posit that it is almost necessary for one to love reading, but for the CPC it is not just reading, he loves poetry and history. He is currently reading two books, V.S Naipaul’s ‘Half a life’ and ‘The Rubaiya of Omar Khayyam’ the Fitzgerald translation.
“I am reading the two books at the same time… I enjoy reading.”

But even as jovial as he is, he noted that he spends the majority of his time working and expressed gratitude to his wife and family for being understanding. “It demands a lot of your time, it demands that you are au fait with everything happening because as a legislative drafter you have to understand how the people in your country think; you have to be familiar with many things including the socio-economic conditions of your country,” he noted.
The legislative drafter who was admitted to the bar in 1983 said legislative drafting has

become his life. He noted that it was his father’s desire for him to follow his footsteps and become a judge but he opted for legislative drafting though at one time he had thought of pursuing studies in dentistry.

“It challenges me, it is very rewarding when you complete an assignment…it is very exacting but I love it; I love what I do,” said Fung-A-Fat who hails from a family of lawyers. His sister Charlene Fung-A-Fat and brother Paul Fung-A-Fat are all attorneys.
He said his long hours at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Ministry of Legal Affairs, have paid off and he is proud of his accomplishments over the years. Senior Counsel Fung-A-Fat said legislative drafting has allowed him to benefit from several training programmes in the area. He was trained in Kenya, at the Kenya School of Law in 1982; he attended a seminar on Industrial Property and Patent Information which was organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 1986, workshop on draft model legislation relating to women in CARICOM States, Human Rights Training for Commonwealth public officials, Drug Control Legal Training, Multinational training seminar on Money Laundering Crimes, Copyrights and Neighbouring rights fellowship, Disaster legislative workshop and he also served as a member of the Inter-Governmental task force to implement the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) to name a few.

With his wealth of experience and the ever-changing global society, Fung-A-Fat believes that continuous legal education is important. “It is not easy…you work seven days a week sometimes when there are deadlines and there is no short cut. It is has been a lifelong ambition to do legislative drafting,” he said.
The CPC finds his job amusing at times noting that “there is never a dull moment at Parliament.” He remembers working with many Attorney Generals of Guyana and noted that each was unique but exceptional.

“All of the Attorney Generals were exceptional men…their knowledge of the law and most times how they emulated and articulated their opinions. It was a great opportunity to work with the distinguished Attorney Generals.”
Fung-A-Fat recounted observing Carl Greenidge, who now serves as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the 1980s and described him as an “eloquent speaker.” he described the late Dr Cheddi Jagan as a “fiery speaker” and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dr. M. Shahabuddeen as eloquently subtle and very dignified. He worked with Dr. M. Shahabuddeen for seven years as a junior counsel.

From the time he was admitted to the bar Fung-A-Fat said he has prepared numerous Bills for Parliament and Subsidiary legislation including the more important Bills in the Annex and he also sat on Parliamentary Select Committees.
Thus far in his career, the CPC said it is always a proud moment for him to see all his hard work come to fruition and noted that “It is nice to see laws being accepted and implemented.”

Asked to state the most memorable experience in his career, Fung-A-Fat said being appointed CPC after the retirement of Cecil Dhurjon, CCH, SC and being appointed Senior Counsel by President David Granger in January.
“Being appointed Senior Counsel…it is an accolade farthest from the mind. Young lawyers dream of those coveted initials…it is something memorable…all the hard work has paid off. To me it is worth more than money; it was a proud moment,” he said.