KUALA LUMPUR: The family of the late Justice Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram has donated more than 10,000 books and periodicals worth about RM9 million owned by the former Federal Court judge to the Universiti Malaya (UM) law faculty library.
UM’s Corporate Communications Centre, in a statement today, said the collection, named ‘The Personal Collection of the late Justice Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram’, will be placed at the library to commemorate the relationship of the late Sri Ram with the law faculty of the university.
The books and periodicals, which include rare law publications from all parts of the world, were donated by Datin Seri Chandra Sri Ram to UM in memory of the world-renowned librarian and information scientist Dr S. R. Ranganathan, it said.
Sri Ram, who was the lead prosecutor in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption case, died on Jan 29 this year, at the age of 79 after being admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU) at a private hospital here due to lung infection.
UM Dean of Law Professor Dr Jason Chuah said the gift is significant as it is made in memory of Chandra’s grand uncle Ranganathan, who developed the first major faceted library classification system, which is the colon classification.
“The colon system is fundamental in the field of library science and has influenced modern classification systems in the world.
“This collection is not only useful for law students and practitioners but also to anyone who needs to do legal and archival research of rare law and legal science books from all parts of the Commonwealth. The collection also includes one of the largest collections of Indian law reports and books outside India, in Asia,“ he said.
Chuah said that given Sri Ram’s interest in administrative law, it is unsurprising that his personal collection contained one of the most comprehensive catalogues of books on the subject, especially on judicial review, in the region.
Meanwhile, UM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman expressed his gratitude to Chandra for making this important contribution to the intellectual presence of UM for generations to come.–Bernama
