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Challenge to AG/IGP to substantiate or withdraw terrorist charges against Hindraf

I just came back to Parliament from the Shah Alam Sessions Court where the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as expected dropped the attempted murder charge against the Batu Caves 31 after being incarcerated for close to two weeks on the ground that they are “national security” threats.

Of course I welcome the Attorney-General’s change of mind and the withdrawal of the charge of attempted murder of a policeman preferred against the Batu Caves 31 – as I had right from the beginning called on Gani to drop the charges of “attempted murder” against the 31 as well as the manhunt for another 30 on the same charge of attempted murder, as it would precipitate a new crisis of confidence in the administration of justice over selective and malicious prosecution in the abuse of the Attorney-General’s discretionary prosecution powers.

However, I am still very disappointed by Gani’s conduct in the Shah Alam Sessions Court.

Although the charges against five students for causing mischief and illegal assembly were also dropped (and they should never have been charged in the first place), the charges of causing mischief and illegal assembly against 26 remained, with their case adjourned till December 27 for sentencing following their guilty pleas this morning.

The very fact that Gani had to drop the capital charge of attempted murder against the Batu Caves 31, (which also means the abandonment of his intention to charge 30 others with the same capital offence) – which could land the guilty with a sentence of life imprisonment – is proof that the Attorney-General had abused his powers in preferring such capital charges in the first place.

It raises the question as to the real motive of the Attorney-General in abusing his powers in slapping the Batu Caves 31 with such a serious charge when there is no basis or justification whatsoever.

The two-week incarceration of the Batu Caves 31 who were denied bail on the ground of being “national and security threats” remains a blot on the nation’s administration of justice and the tenure of Gani Patail as Attorney-General. Continue reading “Challenge to AG/IGP to substantiate or withdraw terrorist charges against Hindraf”

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Fake IPCMC Bill consultation tonight – will anybody be there?

Will anybody come for the Emergency Public Consultation on the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill – the fake Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill – at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall auditorium tonight, December 17, 2007 at 7.30 pm?

Or will there be an empty hall?

Half of me was telling me that it was foolhardy to convene such a Public Consultation at such short notice, with only two days’ notice – and a weekend to boot –with minimal or non-existent mainstream media publicity and that one possibility is a virtual empty auditorium.

This will be grist in the mill of those who will claim that there is no public concern or support for IPCMC and that Malaysians are quite happy with SCC proposal.

The other half of me felt that there is no choice and the risks must be taken to convene a Public Consultation at such short notice because of the great importance to provide an opportunity for the public and civil society to express their views on the SCC Bill – not only because the IPCMC proposal is the most critical of the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission for police reform to create an efficient, accountable, incorruptible, professional world-class police service but also because of the endemic crime which has haunted Malaysians and the country since publication of the Royal Police Commission Report 19 months ago.

Two-day notice falling during a weekend is not the only problem in making a success of the Emergency Public Consultation on the SCC Bill – it is also the end-of-the-year with many taking or preparing their year-end holidays. Continue reading “Fake IPCMC Bill consultation tonight – will anybody be there?”

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Hishammuddin’s antediluvian pledge of “no closure of Chinese primary schools”

“Hisham pledges no closure of Chinese primary schools” is the front-page headline of Nanyang Siang Pau today. Similar headlines also appear in other Chinese newspapers.

Education Minister and UMNO Youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the Barisan Nasional spinmeisters must have regarded this a coup and sure vote-getter after his unforgettable “keris-wielding” stances and his determination to repeat them every year until the non-Malays are “desensitized”.- what I had said in Parliament as manifestation of the “boiling frog” syndrome.

But I am really astounded by two things, that 50 years after Merdeka:

(1) the nation’s Education Minister could seriously believe that his “pledge” not to close Chinese primary schools would be regarded as a boon akin to a message of deliverance from heaven; and

(2) that it could be taken so seriously as to merit being treated as front-page headlines by Chinese newspapers – when it is totally ignored by other language newspapers.

Hishammuddin’s pledge is 50 years behind time. It would have some relevance even during the time of his father, Tun Hussein Onn, who was Education Minister and then Prime Minister from 1976-1981. But it is totally antediluvian today.

Let me tell Hishammuddin and the Barisan Nasional spinmeisters that what the Malaysian Chinese and fair-minded Malaysians want is not a pledge not to close any Chinese primary school but a pledge to build new Chinese primary schools whenever and wherever there is the need arising from demands for such school-places by the pupils and their parents.

Then and only then is such a pledge deserving of front-page headline treatment!

When will such a pledge be forthcoming?

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Tinpot Tyrant In The Making

by M. Bakri Musa

Someone ought to tell Prime Minister Abdullah that he is not up to the job. Malaysia deserves better. If he truly loves his party and country, as he frequently professes, he should acknowledge his limitations and gracefully pave the way for someone else.

As one prominent Malaysian wrote me, it is a tragedy at this stage of our development to have foisted upon us a leader who is clueless, incompetent and arrogant. He has taken all of us for a ride, he continued.

His is the sombong si bodoh (arrogance of ignorance).

This is not the time to maintain our silence, elegant or otherwise. That would only embolden Abdullah, prodded by his advisors, to pursue his current disastrous path. We already have too many preacher boys who for peanuts would willingly spread his message that the world is flat. The next day and with a few more cheap candies thrown their way, they would preach with even greater gusto that the world is indeed round.

Abdullah’s crude handling of the recent Bersih and Hindraf rallies, the largest in a decade, was merely the latest demonstrations of his ineptness. The choice is not, as he naively put it, between public safety and freedom, rather in enhancing both.

There is no safety without freedom. Suppressed, humans will ultimately erupt like a volcano, and with equally unpredictable devastations. Freedom without safety is anarchy. Safety and freedom are two sides of the same coin; each complements the other and both are hallmarks of civilized societies. “Safety” without freedom is illusory.

Abdullah’s “public safety before public freedom” argument is specious; it only reveals the latent tyrannical streak or prison-warden mentality in him. A few more years of him and Malaysians would lose whatever little freedom we have, and the much-sought safety would still elude us. Continue reading “Tinpot Tyrant In The Making”

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Emergency Public Consultation on fake IPCMC Bill – Tunku Aziz, Param, Malek Imtiaz and Ragunath coming

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz should not try to shut up members of the Royal Police Commission by arm-twisting them into silence and obedience about their unhappiness that their key proposal for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMCP) has completely changed character in the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill.

New Straits Times on Friday reported the great disappointment of three members of the Royal Police Commission at the SCC Bill as “as something entirely different from what we recommended”.

The three members are firstly the Royal Police Commission Chairman, Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah and members Tunku Aziz and Lee Lam Thye. Continue reading “Emergency Public Consultation on fake IPCMC Bill – Tunku Aziz, Param, Malek Imtiaz and Ragunath coming”

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Call to AG – drop “attempted murder” and all other charges against Batu Caves 31

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail to reconsider the “attempted murder” charge preferred against the Batu Caves 31, for which they were denied bail and had been incarcerated at the Sungai Buloh Prison for the past 11 days since Dec. 5.

The denial of bail for the Batu Caves 31 is a blot on the administration of justice in Malaysia, as it is harsh, inhumane and unconscionable, completely indefensible on any ground as the contention of national security advanced by the Attorney-General for the collective incarceration of the Batu Caves 31 until their trial in January and the final disposal of their cases do not stand up to any close scrutiny.

The Attorney-General should not only drop the charge of “attempted murder” of a policeman leveled against all the 31, but he should go one step further and withdraw all other charges preferred against them as well.

Furthermore, the police manhunt for more than 30 others to prosecute them under a similar charge of “attempted murder” as the Batu Caves 31 should also be dropped altogether.

The paramount consideration which should be top national priority is to heal the wounds caused by the government insensitivity and mishandling of the long-standing grievances of the Malaysian Indian community at their political, economic, educational, social, cultural and religious polarization and not to aggravate the deep-seated and legitimate discontents of the Malaysian Indian community with harsh and vindictive reprisals by the various state agencies. Continue reading “Call to AG – drop “attempted murder” and all other charges against Batu Caves 31″

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New list for ISA arrests – Ops Lalang 2 in the works?

Is Operation Lalang 2 in the works with the warning yesterday by the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum of more Internal Security Act (ISA) arrests and that the police had submitted another list of names for ISA arrests?

In giving the warning in Jitra yesterday, which was given front-page headlines by the New Sunday Times “WARNING OF MORE ARRESTS – ‘Necessary action’ to be taken under iSA”, Johari revealed that “a list of names had been submitted by the police and it was only a matter of time before several others were detained under the ISA”.

Is the country again in a scenario of “It was never a question of whether Internal Security Act would be used but only a question of when”, quoting Wong Chun Wai’s “On the Beat” in today’s Sunday Star – “A Very Difficult Task To Handle”?

Malaysians must find this state of affairs most shocking and outrageous.

When Johari disclosed that “a list of names had been submitted by the police” for persons to be arrested by the detention-without-trial law, how long is the list? Is it for a score, several scores or even up to over a 100 names as was the case with the infamous Operation Lalang in 1987?

What is the basis for the Police to prepare and submit such a list to the Prime Minister-cum-Internal Security Minister for a new round of ISA arrests?

It would appear that it is politics rather than security which is now the driving force demanding a new round of ISA arrests – as evident from the closed-door meeting of some 1,000 Umno division leaders and members in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Continue reading “New list for ISA arrests – Ops Lalang 2 in the works?”

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Addressing the eternal question

by Azly Rahman

I received the following poignant but inspiring email a week ago:

“I convey my heartfelt thanks and highest appreciation for your article ‘Plea for Indian Malaysians’ (which) has truly overwhelmed me – so much so, it had prompted me to send you this mail (which) I rarely do.

“The very people who were entrusted to heighten the socio-economic status of the Indians [..] have not been able to do so. Poverty, illiteracy, gangsterism and the likes are still plaguing some quarters of Indians. The situation is really cause for concern and there are many individuals like me, who are yearning and craving for a change to take place.

“We would like to see a decent Indian society who are capable to be on par with the other Malaysians. … But in-fighting, accusations, corruption have been a hindrance thus far and it may remain so. For me personally, I just wish we Indians had capable leaders to help us attain a good standing among the other races in this country. However it has remained just that, a thoughtful wish.”

Isn’t this good enough to have us postpone our plans of plotting against one another, propagandising potential conflicts, manufacturing crises, and continue to be in a state of denial of the class issue that is plaguing the Tamil community especially?

Why can’t we leave our ethnic ego outside the door and look at what needs to be done for social justice – for all classes of people of ethnic groups that have not progressed much? Why label this and that group as “terrorists” when the abject poor are being perpetually terrorised by the rich whose economic design prioritise material over social capital, greed over basic needs? Continue reading “Addressing the eternal question”

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False IPCMC Bill (SCC Bill) – Emergency Public Consultation in KL on Monday

I am convening an emergency public consultation in Kuala Lumpur on Monday night on the stand that Members of Parliament should take on the fraudulent Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Bill (IPCMC) which will be debated in Parliament on Tuesday or Wednesday – the last day of the 46-day sitting of the current parliamentary meeting.

I regret that time is so short with only two days to convene such a public consultation when there should be a series of such public consultations in various parts of the country in view of the importance of the proposed legislation based on the most important recommendation of the Royal Police Commission to create an efficient, incorruptible, accountable, professional world-class police service with three core functions – to keep crime low, to eradicate corruption in the police and to protect human rights.

The Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday and will be debated for passage on Tuesday or Wednesday before the adjournment of Parliament until next March.

The SCC Bill admitted in its explanatory statement that its genesis came from the IPCMC proposal – “This Bill is introduced as a result of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police and it is intended to cover not only the police officers but also all enforcement officers at the Federal level.”

Most unfortunately however, the SCC is a completely different animal from the one conceived and recommended by the Royal Police Commission – in fact it makes a total mockery of the IPCMC proposal as to warrant the SCC Bill to be billed as a fraudulent IPCMC Bill.

The whole raison d’etre for the IPCMC proposal, the most important of its 125 recommendations for police reform, was spelt out by the Royal Police Commission in Chapter 6 its Report on “Modernise the Role, Functions and Organisations of the Royal Malaysia Police” (p. 189), viz: Continue reading “False IPCMC Bill (SCC Bill) – Emergency Public Consultation in KL on Monday”

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PM-Indian NGOs meeting – utter failure of MIC and Samy, reduced to silent observer/note-taker

The promise by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to look into the plight of the Indian community after meeting with 14 Indian NGOs yesterday is proof of the legitimacy of the grievances of long-standing political, economic, educational, social, cultural and religious marginalization of the Malaysian Indians and the Nov. 25 Hindraf gathering of 30,000 people despite groundless Hindraf allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Malaysian Indians.

It is also proof of the complete irrelevance of the MIC as the Barisan Nasional component party for the Indians and the utter failure of Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu after over 28 years as the MIC President and sole Indian Cabinet Minister to the extent that he had been reduced to the pathetic role of a silent observer and note-taker at the meeting yesterday.

The question that Samy Vellu and all MIC leaders have to answer is why they are so articulate in their declaration that the Hindraf allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide are baseless and irresponsible but yet so cowardly and dumb in not daring to declare that the grievances of Malaysian Indians at their long-standing marginalization as equal and rightful citizens of Malaysia is a real and genuine one – and that the 30,000 Malaysian Indians from all over the country who responded to the Hindraf rally on Nov. 25 was a cry of desperation to the Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional Government for attention and action to end their marginalization and not a gathering of riot or turmoil over the baseless allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Continue reading “PM-Indian NGOs meeting – utter failure of MIC and Samy, reduced to silent observer/note-taker”

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Special Complaints Commission – totally different creature and very negation of IPCMC proposal

The Special Complaints Commission proposed in the bill tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday is a totally different creature from the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and the very negation of the independent external oversight agency for the police recommended by the Royal Police Commission.

No wonder the Chairman of the Royal Police Commission, Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah said yesterday that he was “very disappointed” as the proposed Special Complaints Commission was not what the Royal Police Commission had in mind. Dzaiddin described the Special Complaints Commission as “something entirely different from what we recommended”.

Another member of the Royal Police Commission, Tunku Abdul Aziz, former Transparency International Malaysia President, is also a disappointed man.

He said: “The whole purpose was to ensure that no only were the police protected against unfair criticism and allegations but also that there would be a return of public confidence in an organization that had lost it. If the new bill is watered down, obviously we are not going to achieve this purpose.”

How can the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Cabinet expect the 26 million Malaysians to have confidence in the proposed Special Complaints Commission when the leading lights of the Royal Police Commission like Tun Dzaiddin and Tunku Aziz are totally disgusted by the breach of faith and the complete watering-down of the IPCMC proposal to produce something quite nonsensical? Continue reading “Special Complaints Commission – totally different creature and very negation of IPCMC proposal”

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ISA detention of Hindraf five most deplorable

The invocation of the Internal Security Act (ISA) to arrest five Hindraf leaders is most deplorable and marks another violation of the pledge by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to promote democracy, uphold human rights and defend the rule of law.

This is because the infamous detention-without-trial Internal Security Act is the very antithesis of the rule of law.

The five detained under the ISA are P. Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasanthakumar.

If the government has clear and convincing evidence that the five had committed grave offences, they should be charged in court allowing them an open trial and an opportunity to defend themselves instead of being incarcerated under a regime where proof is not necessary at all.

The return of the ISA is another regression of Malaysia to the dark era of human rights violations which can only tarnish the country’s international reputation and image.

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Urgent Parliament motion on Lingam Tape RCI – unacceptable chairman and unsatisfactory terms of reference

I have today given notice to the Parliament Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah to move an urgent motion on Monday for a debate on the unacceptable chairman and unsatisfactory terms of reference of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal.

My motion for an urgent debate reads:

“That the House gives leave to Ketua Pembangkang YB Lim Kit Siang to adjourn the House under S.O. 18 (1) to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance – the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lingam Tape videoclip scandal announced by the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

“The appointment of Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor as Chairman of RCI into the Lingam Tape scandal and the commission’s restricted terms of reference are most disappointing and a great letdown for Malaysians who had looked forward to a new page for Malaysia’s judiciary and administration of justice.

‘Haidar is clearly not acceptable or suitable to be Chairman of the RCI into the Lingam Tape scandal in view of his disgraceful role in the 1988 Judicial Crisis over the sacking of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President and two Supreme Court judges, Datuk George Seah and the late Tan Sri Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh – the ‘mother’ of a string of judicial crisis in the past 19 years which rocked the country with repeated erosion and ravages of the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary.

“It is most regrettable that eminent and credible Malaysians whose appointment would have enhanced public confidence in the RCI had been omitted, such as the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr. Nazrain Shah, former members of judiciary, Tun Dzaiddin, Shaikh Daud, N. H. Chan, Visu Sinadurai and distinguished Malaysians like Tunku Aziz, Raja Aziz Addruse, Param Cumaraswamy, Yeo Yang Poh and Chooi Mun Sou.

“Parliament must urgently debate the very restricted terms of reference of the RCI so that the once-in-a-generation golden opportunity should not be missed to put right what had been wrong and rotten with the system of justice for nearly two decades to restore confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.”

Continue reading “Urgent Parliament motion on Lingam Tape RCI – unacceptable chairman and unsatisfactory terms of reference”

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Its hard to listen to the people while you gas them in the face.

By Farish A. Noor

Once in a blue moon, in the developing world there appears that rare sort of politician who claims that he wants to listen to the people and take them into account. Of course the sighting of these rare characters is greeted with some degree of elation and relief, a bit like witnessing a lunar eclipse or winning a small lottery: For the developing world is replete with arm-wielding, thug-hugging, testosterone-driven macho-types who often preach their gospel of governance with a club in one hand and the other poised on the trigger.

We have seen this sort of nasty governance in many a developing country: The riot police in South Korea used to have a smiley face on their riot shields, just to add insult to injury when they shot off their tear gas cannisters at point blank range. Indonesian security forces during the time of Suharto used to chat pleasantly with the locals over a cup of tea before they sent in bulldozers to flatten entire villages. Why, even the death squads of Saddam Hussein used to send a bill and invoice to the families of those whose members had been kidnapped and murdered at night.

But there is also that other type of soft authoritarian despot that many of us in the developing world are familiar with by now: These are the more media-savvy types who can at least tie a tie around their necks, feel comfortable in a suit, quote from a novel offhand, and smile at you. Then
they do things like place their citizens under detention without trial, have them arrested at dawn while they are asleep in their homes, manipulate the media and control every branch of the government from the legislature to the judiciary.

Looking at the developments in Malaysia of late, one might come to the conclusion that that is precisely the sort of soft authoritarianism that has come to roost. Over the past month the capital of Kuala Lumpur witnessed at least two mammoth demonstrations in a country where the national pastime seems to be shopping: The first was a march organised by the coalition of NGOs called ‘BERSIH’, that called for free and fair elections. The second was a large march organised by the Malaysian Hindu Action Rights Force (HINDRAF) that highlighted the plight of the millions of Malaysian Hindus who remain at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in the country. Continue reading “Its hard to listen to the people while you gas them in the face.”

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Is PM AAB above the law?

by Loh Meng Kow

According to Star, PM AAB commenting on the arrest of eight people, including four lawyers, for taking part in an illegal march here yesterday, and said: Lawyers are not above the law.

Federal Constitution: Section 10. Freedom of speech, assembly and association has four clauses. It reads (1) Subject to Clauses (2), (3), and (4)-

(a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression;

(b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms;

(c) all citizens have the right to form associations.

Section 4. Supreme law of the Federation reads (1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
Section 27 of the police Act 1967, and section 141 of the penal code deal with assembly, and they can only provide guidelines on how assembly should be conducted. They cannot go against Section 10 (1) in making assembly illegal since that would be inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore be void. Continue reading “Is PM AAB above the law?”

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Malaysia should consider not celebrating Merdeka Day and International New Year

by Sagaladoola

I would like to refer to Malaysiakini reports : ( http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75828 ) ” Human Rights march : 5 lawyers arrested ” and ” PM warns public safety is top priority ” ( http://www5.malaysiakini.com/news/75876 ). In the latter report, the PM apparently warned (according to Malaysiakini) “Public safety takes precedence over public freedom”.

I am not sure how our Prime Minister’s brain works but if Abdullah Ahmad Badawi thinks the International Human Rights Day celebration requires a permit and jeopardise the national safety, I would like to remind the police and him to consider banning the up-and-coming Hari Raya Haji, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Aidiladha and most important of all the 51st Merdeka Day in 2008.

Hearing so many calls from his government and himself on the possibility of using the Internal Security Act, I hope our PM is just joking to Malaysians. After all, from my understanding, less than 10 person coming together without a permit is already a gathering and if police has its way, those assembling can be under detention without trial.

International Human Rights Day is not a protest or having any intention to upset national security. It is an annual celebration to commemorate, to remind us, humans, of the freedom we are supposed to have. Similarly, Merdeka or Independence Day falling on 31st August 2008 is to remind Malaysians on the freedom that we have achieved and to commemorate the effort to gain Independence as a human right. If International Human Rights Day is considered to be unsafe, then perhaps, Merdeka Day should not be celebrated as well. There should be no marching. If 200 people walking on the street with some banners, without parang or guns for the 9th December 2007 celebration is considered not safe, it is in my opinion the 31st August celebration which has more number of people marching could be potentially dangerous to national security. Continue reading “Malaysia should consider not celebrating Merdeka Day and International New Year”

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Legal challenge to declare court order which barred Bersih activists and public from Monday Parliament null and void

I have filed an application in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to challenge the legality of the court order obtained by the police barring Bersih activists and the public from Parliament on Monday, 11th December 2007 as null and void.

Karpal Singh is assisted by M. Kulasegaran in preparing the writ of summons in the case Lim Kit Siang vs OCPD Sentul, Inspector-General of Police and the Malaysian Government. My statement of claim, filed with the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, follows: Continue reading “Legal challenge to declare court order which barred Bersih activists and public from Monday Parliament null and void”

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Haidar as head of Lingam Tape RCI and restricted terms of reference – most disappointing and great letdown

The appointment of Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor as Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal and the commission’s restricted terms of reference are most disappointing and a great letdown for Malaysians who had looked forward to a new page for Malaysia’s judiciary and administration of justice.

Haidar, who was former Chief Judge of Malaya, is clearly not acceptable or suitable to be Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal in view of his disgraceful role in the 1988 Judicial Crisis which saw the arbitrary and unconstitutional sacking of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President and two Supreme Court judges, Datuk George Seah and the late Tan Sri Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh – the “mother” of a string of judicial crisis in the past 19 years which rocked the country with repeated erosion and ravages of the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary.

In drawing up very restricted terms of reference strictly confining the Royal Commission of Inquiry to the Lingam Tape, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has missed the golden opportunity to put right what had been wrong and rotten with the system of justice for nearly two decades.

What Abdullah should have done is to frame the widest and most comprehensive terms of reference to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape with the mandate to restore national and international confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.

The missed golden opportunity – which can come only once-in-a-lifetime – is felt most acutely with the brave admission by the new Chief Justice, Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad on the rot in the administration of justice and his vow for a “house-cleaning” of the judiciary. Continue reading “Haidar as head of Lingam Tape RCI and restricted terms of reference – most disappointing and great letdown”

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DAP ceramah – New Deal for marginalised Indians and all marginalised groups

DAP Ceramah – New Deal for marginalised Indians and all marginalised groups

Speakers –

1. Lim Guan Eng DAP Secretary-General
2. M. Kulasegaran – MP Ipoh Barat
3. Fong Kui Lun – MP Bukit Bintang
4. A. Sivanesan – CEC member
5. M. Manoharan – Human Rights lawyer
6. Lim Kit Siang – Parliamentary Opposition Leader

Venue – Wisma NUBE,
No. 12 Jalan Tun Sambanthan 3, Brickfields,
(besides Petronas station)

Date – Wednesday 12th December 2007 (7.30 pm)

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Zaki should support Chief Justice’s vow of “house-cleaning” of judiciary with three measures

The new Chief Justice of Malaysia Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad has made a courageous pledge of “house-cleaning” of the judiciary after being sworn in as the highest judicial officer of the land.

Abdul Hamid is the first top judicial officer to admit to the rot in the judiciary which has plunged national and international confidence in the system of justice to the lowest point in the 50-year history of the nation, and the rot in the judicial system is most vividly described by the Chief Justice when he said:

“I am aware that this appointment is a heavy burden on me. It is more so when it happens at a very challenging time, that is, when public perceptions of the judiciary are disturbing, when the integrity of the courts in the administration of justice is doubted, when appointments and the behaviour of judges and their commitments in the discharge of their duties, are all being questioned.”

Describing the judiciary as the last frontier of a nation, he said : “When the people no longer have confidence in the courts, there will be chaos.

“The independence of the judiciary means giving decision in a case based on law and evidence adduced in court without being influenced or pressured by any party.”

I wish to express my full support to Abdul Hamid’s bold admission of the rot in the administration of justice and his vow to “house-clean” the judiciary.

I do not doube Abdul Hamid’s sincerity, honesty or seriousness of purpose. However, I am very pessimistic at the prospect of success of such a “house-cleaning” by Abdul Hamid for two reasons: Continue reading “Zaki should support Chief Justice’s vow of “house-cleaning” of judiciary with three measures”