Fourthly, on an independent judiciary — Malaysia was held in high international esteem until the 1988 judicial crisis, and the nation has not fully recovered from the trauma and fall-outs of the successive series of judicial crisis for the ensuing 15 years. How to restore full public confidence in the system of justice in the country?
The answer by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz to Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Glugor) yesterday that the government has no plans to set up a Judicial Commission for the appointment of judges is most deplorable.
What is even more shocking is that this is also the view of the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who had likened the proposal for an independent judicial commission on appointment and promotion of judges as akin to nudity rather than transparency. Such comment by the higher judicial officer in the land is most ill-advised, in poor taste and reflect badly on the office of Chief Justice.
Ahmad Fairuz may be unhappy with the proposal of an independent judicial commission to oversee the selection and promotion of judges, but he should realize that this proposal pre-dates his appointment to the top judicial post in the land and meant to enhance public confidence in the system of justice and in that context, there is nothing personal against any personal holder of the office.
Ahmad Fairuz should not have questioned the motives of those who had made the proposal, such as the Bar Council and several prominent lawyers, posing the rhetorical question: “Are we to allow whoever has cases in court and who lost to decide on the fate of judges?” He ignores the support of retired judges for the proposal.
It is absolutely wrong and inapt to categorise the proposal of an independent Judicial Commission as an exercise in nudity rather than transparency, especially when this judicial reform had been adopted by other countries such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The proposal for a Judicial Appointments Commission was not made only during Fairuz’s tenure as Chief Justice.
I for one had been calling for a new system of judicial appointments to ensure transparency, top-quality judges and a world-class justice system since the nineties.
Here, I want to know what has happened to Fairuz’s public undertaking on his appointment as Chief Justice some four years ago in 2003 to recast the Judges’ Code of Ethics to restore public confidence in judicial independence, impartiality and integrity.
Has the Chief Justice reneged on his commitment to recast the Judges’ Code of Ethics to fully restore public confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary?
It is most surprising that the post of Chief Judge of Malaya had not been filled for over two-and-a-half months since the retirement of Tan Sri Siti Normah on 5th January 2007.
The excuse that it will take some time to fill the position of the Chief Judge of Malaya because the name of the candidate had to be forwarded to the Prime Minister who would advise the Conference of Rulers on the appointment and that the Conference only meet once in three months is completely unacceptable, as it is known at least six months in advance when the position would definitely fall vacant — when Siti Normah was given a six-month extension (which cannot be further extended) when she turned 66 on July 6 last year.
It reflects poorly on the efficiency and professionalism of the Chief Justice that he cannot ensure a smooth transition for high judicial appointments so that a new Chief Judge of Malaya was able to take over from Siti Normah on her retirement on 5th January 2007.
At present, Ahmad Fairuz is the Acting Chief Judge of Malaya. Is this proper and even constitutional? Will Malaysia one day have a Chief Justice who even trebles up as Acting President of the Court of Appeal as well as Chief Judge of Malaya?
[Speech (15) on Royal Address debate in Parliament 22.3.07]
Why shouldn’t one of the best legal minds the country has ever had and probably the best on the Bench today, Sri Ram, be considered?
So what if it is a double promotion! The law is colour-blind. So should judges too.
The litmus test and the only test must be governed by meritocracy. Anything else is spurious and shameless.
YB LKS says: “Will Malaysia one day have a Chief Justice who even trebles up as Acting President of the Court of Appeal as well as Chief Judge of Malaya?”
Not inconceivable. After all, AAB is the PM, the Minister of Finanace and the Minister of Internal Security.
The huge question is: can AAB do multi-tasking? I say he is not even competent enough for one, let alone three. The record and facts of the last three years speak for themselves. Why do you think he’s been caught napping at public functions? Late nights reading (or trying to understand) all those Cabinet papers maybe. Totally inexcusable.
Now can the Chief Justice do an AAB in the judiciary. Not inconceivable. Can he do such a mammoth multi-tasking? Remember this man is neither a Denning nor a Steyn. I am sure if neither Denning nor Steyn can do it, lesser men should stay away where angels fear to tread.
the lack of a CJ is indicative of the direction and integrity of M’sia’s current judicial system?
Perhaps it is because there are too many “suitable” Bumi candidates lobbying and they are still checking Agustine Paul’s status.
We do have the biggest court dont we? Still wondering why the need for it when the whole system is shrouded with problems.
In some countries, there is strict case management where all the nitty gritties (like facts, exchange of documents etc) are sorted out before the case come for hearing. The judge actively oversees the management of his cases. There is no wastage of the court’s time and the case is heard on time and schedule and smoothly for a quick conclusion. No backlog.
Further, you may need to pay for the judge’s time for hearing the case (just like how lawyers and other professionals charge you based on an hourly rates). This fee is paid to the court for the administration of the Judiciary and justice and not paid to the judge.
Under such circumstances, it would be to every one’s advantage to have a speedy and as short a trial as possible as it costs money for the case to drag on. Will it work here? Will it also be abused? Can we not give it a serious try?
If the CJ could just a make a business trip to New Zealand (alone, not with any lawyer buddies) to see how things click there. Then maybe we might not need the largest court complex in the whole jing bang world.
YES the recent blame game about who is responsible for the delay and postponement of cases shows something or many things are not right about the administration of justice.
The rules to dispose of cases should be laid down and understood by all.
For example if a witness cannot be produced, that side of the argument is lost as far as the case is concerned.
If a lawyer/DPP cannot be present, there should be a procedure whereby his assistant will appear for him.
Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) is without a President and a Provost for a very very long time now, much much longer than 2 1/2 months without a Chief Judge. http://www.must.edu.my/organization.html
. You see, this is Malaysia. Students here now don’t have a higher authority to go to in case of abuse of power by their lecturers. All channels of appeal now controlled by the same bunch of selfish lecturers. Selfish indeed. Selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish, cunning lecturers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can only go to the temple when they have this ceremony which you hit the ‘little man’ (xiao ren) with your shoe. I hit ‘xiao ren’ with all my might, and it did provide some relief, and this is all I, a defenceless student can do.
“…Malays benefited over other races – including through preferential employment, education, scholarships, business, access to cheaper housing, and assisted savings. Originally designed to last for 20 years, the basic policies of the NEP have continued for nearly twice that long under different names, sparking envy and resentment between Malays and non-Malays…” See
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IC24Ae01.html
All the judges should take a test whether they know how to use a computer, starting with the Chief Justice. Probably half of them would fail.
///“…Malays benefited over other races – including through preferential employment, education, scholarships, business, access to cheaper housing, and assisted savings. ///
These unfair advantage should have been abolished after 20 years whether or not the 30% target has been attained because the FIC rules were designed to take care of the 30% target.
Extending unfair advantage beyond 20 years and doctoring equity statistics to claim that NEP objective has not been met only shows that might is right.
UMNO never believe in fairplay, and unfortunately the representatives from the component parties were willing to sell the interests of their communitites to stay as YBs, and they allow themselves to be used by UMNO to give the impression of power sharing; when in fact theses ministers are not even allowed to submit a memo to the PM to state their views.
The non-Malays should realise by now that even without people of their communities represented in the government, the race-biased policies by UMNO cannot be worse, since non-Malays in the government have not been able to ameliorate any of the racially biased policies. What was worse, the presence of those non-Malays provided the impression to the outside world, and also an excuse for UMNO that the unfair policies had their support. UMNO even expect their non-Malay faithfuls to pacify their communities, through spreading the culture of fear that it could be worse.
The next GE is near. The only hope for the non-Malays is to vote for the opposition parties, whatever that maybe, and not BN. Let us help the BN component parties to be removed from the government, since on their own they would not dare to risk taking the blame for rocking the boats.
Only when all non-Malays in BN are defeated in the next GE would there be a possibility of a change in the political structure in the country. Only when the race-based parties among the non-Malays are destroyed would there be a chance that UMNO, even if it retains the government, begin to reconsider its policies to be fair to other communities, since all eyes around the world would like to see how a single race rule over a multiracial country.
Give UMNO a chance to evolve into a fair government, and at the same time, let the opposition perform some effective functions.
///In some countries, there is strict case management where all the nitty gritties (like facts, exchange of documents etc) are sorted out before the case come for hearing.///
An observation made by Sheriff Singh.
This stage of the legal process is called “discovery” – a procedure when both sides exchange documents, make depositions, interrogatories etc. This is nothing new.
Most cases do not come to trial and are settled just before the trial. Some are settled during the “discovery” period.
//All the judges should take a test whether they know how to use a computer, starting with the Chief Justice. Probably half of them would fail.//
Judges are old school. They are in their fifties and sixties and were educated during a period when computers were not in use the way they were today. Most suffer from computer phobia and are afraid to touch the keyboards.
Can we blame them? Do you think all the CEOs who head multinationals know how to use the computer?
Their performance is not tied to how skillful they are in using the keyboards – like lawyers, doctors etc. But it helps.
It is most curious why despite Tan Sri Siti Normah’s retirement on 5th January 2007 being known or ought to be known in advance, there was no adequate preparations for smooth transition and Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim (CJ) has to double up as Acting Chief Judge as well after 2 ½ months.
As the reason is not known, I can’t say that the lack of smooth transition in the Chief Judge position is a reflection of his “efficiency and professionalism†or lack thereof.
For all we know it is not the CJ, but the PM who hasn’t made up his mind as to who ought to be Chief Judge amongst the names submitted to him.
But even if the CJ who has delayed in submitting the names in timely manner, he can rely on a number of plausible excuses.
CJ’s views on selection and appointment of judges have been extensively reported.
The Star on Nov 22nd last year, reported the CJ to have said that he did his “research†and “there is no cronyism involved in the appointment of High Court judgesâ€Â.
Detailing the selection process, he said that senior superior court judges would interview each candidate before he or she was investigated by various authorities, including the Anti-Corruption Agency and Registrar of Companies.
Now maybe the ACA did not come back quick enough to clear the names. We all know that the ACA’s director-general Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor is pretty busy nowadays in solving his own personal problems.
CJ also said, “We will also trace the private lives of these candidates. Humans are good actors. I will then discuss with my brother judges, senior members of the Bar and get input from members of the public, corporate sector and business circle,†he added.
He said he would look at private life as in whether lifestyle is matched by earnings; whether the candidate is likely to improperly fraternize and socialise with lawyers, prosecutors and corporate figures while hearing their cases in court.
One remembers on March 2nd this year The Star reported him to have “hit out at judges who accept bribes†thereby indirectly admitting that there were judges who accepted bribes.
Corruption is pervasive in all strata of society, so maybe CJ has to work extra hard to scour the legal landscape for eligible and to separate the chaff from the grain. Now one of the posters even suggests that Judges need to know how to use computer, and this being so, maybe to even read blogs to have a broad perspectives of viewpoints, the search for the right candidate becomes exponentially more difficult.
As CJ has hinted his disinclination towards the Judicial Commission when bringing up the analogy of “nudityâ€Â, the message is that the responsibility of recommending suitable candidates is a burden his alone to bear and that correspondingly he has to do longer research and delve deeper into backgrounds before submitting the list of candidates to the PM – so that the 2 ½ months delay is far from being a reflection of inefficiency, is in fact a measure of his prudence of and due diligence in careful selection!
I am just trying to give him the benefit of doubt.
Jefffrey said: “….he has to do longer research and delve deeper into backgrounds before submitting the list of candidates to the PM – so that the 2 ½ months delay is far from being a reflection of inefficiency, is in fact a measure of his prudence of and due diligence in careful selection!
I am just trying to give him the benefit of doubt.”
Maybe, Jeffrey is right.
MAybe, we should give CJ another 2 1/2 mnths.
Maybe, we should give AAB another 1 term to prove himself.
Maybe, we should give JAsin MP another term to open his other eye.
Maybe, we should allow Zakaria time to repent ….and …
Maybe, we should allow the corrupt judges to repent….and…
Maybe…maybe…maybe Bolehland would have disappeared under water by the time we allow all these wounds to turn into sores!
Jeffrey:”….so that the 2 ½ months delay is far from being a reflection of inefficiency, is in fact a measure of his prudence of and due diligence in careful selection!”
I have to agree with Jeffery.
The “delay” implies that they are not of one mind as to who should succeed. You could say that as there is no dearth of qualified candidates and that there is a number and they could not decide; or it could mean they are undecided as to the criteria to use.
Let’s hope it is not the latter.
“Perhaps it is because there are too many “suitable†Bumi candidates lobbying and they are still checking Agustine Paul’s status.” sheriff singh
Augustine Paul?? You can never trust Indians. They don’t even trust each other.