COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
23 July 2014
Want to know what has troubled the Malaysian judiciary all these years? Why it is the butt of jokes and why it has as much credibility as Datuk Ibrahim Ali?
Look no further than former chief justice (CJ) Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad (pic).
This is a man who shades the truth: who spews half-baked nonsense and tries to dress it up as fact. But most alarmingly, this is a man who is not averse to using his standing in society to divide Malaysians.
He is not what a judge or a former judge is supposed to be: courageous, full of integrity, but most of all, honest.
Just listen to his latest diatribe at a gathering before Muslim groups in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. In a nutshell, this is what he said:
* Islam is under threat in DAP-held Penang, because some unnamed mufti told him that obtaining an allocation for Islamic activities was difficult.
Did he verify the allegation? No. Instead he repeats this allegation to an audience of several hundred just to spark their anger against the DAP (read: non-Muslims).
* That during the opening of some building in Penang, in addition to prayers by Muslims, there were also prayers by Christians and Buddhists. The former CJ said that this was an example of the role of Islam under the Constitution being usurped by other religions.
What a sorry individual this man is. Malaysians are God-fearing people and what is wrong with each community being allowed to say prayers to commemorate a special event?
* That the Catholic Church was pressing the use of the word Allah because it wanted to convert Muslims. That Malaysia was different from the rest of the Muslim world where Christians were allowed to use the word Allah.
At the very least, you would expect the former CJ to do some research. Obviously, diligence is not his strong point. For starters, Christians have used the word Allah in their worship for more than 100 years and there were no problems with regard to the usage, until Umno politicians stirred the pot.
Secondly, there have only been few conversions from Islam to Catholicism in Malaysia in the last 10 years.
* That non-Muslims want the same rights as Muslims in Malaysia. This is a strange statement coming from someone who used to be at the apex of the judiciary.
The Federal Constitution guarantees Malaysians the right to practise their religion. This is what Malaysians want: what is guaranteed by the most important piece of legislation in the country.
There could be a number of reasons why Tun Abdul Hamid is stirring the pot with his incendiary comments and half-truths. He could be missing the spotlight, thinking that only speaking for Perkasa and Isma will get him headlines.
Perhaps he believes he needs to “defend” Islam to make amends for his sins. He won’t be the last person to go down this path. Malaysia is full of personalities who have suddenly grown a religious conscience after years and decades of sins of commission and omission.
Whatever his reason, make no mistake that the former CJ is a dangerous and irresponsible man, cut from the same cloth of Umno, Perkasa, Isma – men who make sweeping and unverified statements with the sole purpose of sowing hatred. – July 23, 2014.
The joke is on us. There is NO TELLING THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE this man has done as a CJ and his long tenure as a judge. We just don’t know what the damage are until UMNO/BN is removed from office and the judiciary completely audited for the last few decades and reformed.
He is irrelevant now, is on a path of determined own self-destruction. The real issue is how much of he has destroyed and maybe our own already potential self-destruction is because of what he was allowed before..
And he actually sat in court. Heard arguments. And and then make decisions. Pass judgments?
OMG!!
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has hit out at the former chief justice for claiming that Islam was under threat in the state, calling the latter a “liar, racist and an extremist”.
I disagree. The CM got it wrong on the main fault of ex-CM. His main fault, he is simply poor-intellect that never deserved the chair he had. His argument is not only lies and unrigourous. HE IS WRONG ON THE FACTS ITSELF. He can’t even get it right what and who made job offer to him..Hence he is likely wrong on the facts of this argument itself – not even on purpose just careless.
Hey, Mr IGP, where are you? If you are looking to charge someone for sedition, you have one now. Why don’t you haul up this former CJ and record his statement? No?
This judge guy is more interested in showing “my kok is bigger than your kok” argument. My god is better than your god. My allocation must be greater than your allocation.
Why don’t he go challenge the Russians? Tak ada bola to do that. Bully, tipu rakyat bolehlah.
I think if you say one this and one that, then why should a christian prays in silence in a group whereas the other side can read the thing aloud like everyone is you punya ? The one does not mean your punya and everyone must follow you punya. The one means give and take. Like if today you done your part, tomorrow let the other do their part. If we can put up with you all, why do you fear in putting up with us ?