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Deal with the Rot, Not the Tape

by M. Bakri Musa

If Chief Justice Ahmad Feiruz has any sense of personal honor and professional integrity left, he should resign immediately. If Prime Minister Abdullah has even the slightest responsibility for leadership and moral duty to the citizens, he should not extend the Chief Justice’s contract, due to expire this October. If the Malaysian Bar Council has any credible principle of societal obligation and self-policing ethics of a profession, it would disbar the lawyer making that phone call shown in the infamous video clip exposed by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Alas, judging from past performances, expect none of these. That is the unfortunate reality of Malaysia today. What remains then would be for the King to withhold consent for extending Feiruz’s contract, thereby precipitating an unnecessary and distracting constitutional crisis the nation could ill bear.

The Bar Council had an Emergency Meeting, but instead of initiating the necessary disciplinary proceedings on the involved lawyer (which would definitely be within its power) it decided instead to march at Putrajaya and hand a petition to the Prime Minister demanding for a Royal Commission. Next those lawyers would be demonstrating on the streets. So Third World, a la Pakistan! I would have thought those smart lawyers would have concocted some novel legal theory on which to sue the government into action.

Meanwhile Abdullah Badawi was “disappointed,” not at the explosive contents of the video but the fact that it was released. Wake up, Mr. Prime Minister! The rot is the Malaysian judiciary, not the taping. If Abdullah does perk up from his slumber, he would probably order the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim!

Chief Justice Feiruz, taking a leaf from the Prime Minister’s notorious “elegant silence,” issued a terse, “No comment!” It was neither elegant nor silent; instead it was ugly and spoke volumes. Continue reading “Deal with the Rot, Not the Tape”

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Zam is a disgrace to Malaysia – handicapped by his chauvinistic mindset from becoming a full Malaysian

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin is a disgrace to Malaysian nation-building on her 50th Merdeka anniversary, a Minister who is handicapped by his narrow-minded thinking from becoming a full Malaysian, constantly playing the communal drum to turn every issue including human rights, corruption and justice into a racial one.

This is the Bernama report of Zainuddin’s remarks attacking the DAP in Sungai Petani yesterday:

Zainuddin said many of the party’s statements seemed to be aimed at eroding public confidence in the police force, besides taking a swipe at the Malays by connecting police with the Malay community.

“As most of the police personnel are Malays, any action taken in a case is seen by the DAP as the use of Malay power over the non-Malays,” he said in reference to several rape and corruption cases highlighted by the DAP.

It is sad and tragic that although Malaysia has just celebrated 50 years of independent nationhood, there are still people occupying positions of power in government who have not kept abreast with the evolution of Malaysian identity and consciousness but continue to cling to their chauvinist mindset, seeing everything through the communal prism. Continue reading “Zam is a disgrace to Malaysia – handicapped by his chauvinistic mindset from becoming a full Malaysian”

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Lingam Tape – MCA Ministers can undergo lobotomy or behave like traditional three monkeys, do not mean public must follow

Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow in Kuantan yesterday asked all parties to refrain from speculating on the video clip of a lawyer allegedly brokering the appointment of judges, saying it was unwise to make assumptions or draw conclusions without solid evidence.

He repeated the nonsensical line: “The video clip merely shows a telephone conversation between the lawyer and another person. We don’t know exactly what they are talking about.

“Therefore, we should not arrive at a conclusion before police conclude their investigations.”

In the first place, it is very clear as to the matters that were talked about in the Lingam Tape.

Secondly, matters adverted to in the Lingam Tape is not just about brokering the appointment of judges but the wholesale perversion of the course of justice, polluting and contaminating not only the present administration of justice but the whole system of governance.

Thirdly, if MCA Ministers want to undergo a lobotomy or behave like the traditional three monkeys of having eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not, there is no reason why Malaysian citizens should emulate them.

Only yesterday, the Bar Council emergency meeting called for the immediate establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate into the Lingam Tape and the rot in the judiciary since 1988. Continue reading “Lingam Tape – MCA Ministers can undergo lobotomy or behave like traditional three monkeys, do not mean public must follow”