Delivering justice, maybe, but renewing trust?

              

That was the theme of last night’s dinner hosted by the Bar Council to set the stage for Pak Lah to make his announcement on moves by the government to reform the judiciary.

Was justice delivered? Was trust renewed?

You can read the full text of Pak Lah’s speech HERE  .

Malaysiakini report on the dinner HERE. 

MSM reports HERE and HERE.

Blogosphere reports HERE and HERE

Still no explicit apology to the 6 judges of the 1988 crisis. Instead, and quoting Pak Lah,‘In recognition of the contributions of the six outstanding judges, the Government has decided to make goodwill ex gratia payments to them. Gentlemen, I do not presume to equate your contributions, pain and loss with mere currency, but I hope that you could accept this as a heartfelt and sincere gesture to mend what has been’.

I’m happy for the 6 judges and their families. Apology or no, it brings closure of sorts to a tragic injustice inflicted on good men by one man’s determination to reatain power by all means, evil or otherwise.

Some may say that justice was in fact delivered last night.

Has not one man been overlooked, though?

 Justice Syed Ahmad Idid.

Forced to resign from the judiciary in 1996 for whistleblowing on the corrupt goings-on in the judiciary vide a 33- page letter albeit written anonymously.

If you are in the dark about this man and how he was unjustly treated by the Mahathir regime, read related articles HERE  , HERE and HERE.

Pak Lah, will you not make another sincere gesture to mend what has been done to this man?

As for the proposed Judicial Appointments Commission, I’m afraid it does not go far enough given that, quoting Pak Lah again, ‘the constitutional prerogative of the Prime Minister to put forward names to DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Agong will remain…’

Pak Lah, you have yourself publicly laid blame on Mahathir for the blows inflicted on the judiciary in 1988. You have witnessed, then, how one man wielded power to destroy a most important constitutional institution.

In your own words uttered last night, ‘For many, the events of 1988 were an upheaval of the nation’s judicial system… For me, personally, I feel it was a time of crisis from which the nation never fully recovered…’ and ‘…we can no longer leave such an important institution to hope and chance. The system must have built-in safeguards to prevent potential abuse…’

Therefore, the proposed Commission must take the place of the Prime Minister in advising the DYMM Agong on candidates for appointment to our superior courts. There must be no room whatsoever for any possibile executive interference in the appointment of the judicial arm of government. Otherwise, we leave open our system of judicial appointments to potential abuse and manipulation if this country is ever blighted with another Mahathir.

Pak Lah had said last night, in relation to this proposed Commission, that ‘consultation on the workings and the structure of the Commission will involve primary stakeholders. All will have a chance to provide their input to the Government… The government has set the ball rolling. We have put forward initial, but vital, steps. Now it is for all parties concerned – the judiciary, the Bar, civil society and the public at large – to also play their respective roles in facilitating these reforms. Whatever our differences, we share the same idealism for our nation’s judiciary. Let us work through our differences’

It is therefore imperative that the Bar Council and civil society NGOs and NGIs with the requisite expertise step forward and be heard during the processes involved in making this proposed Commission a reality.

It is also vitally important that the establishment of this Commission be fast-tracked so that it will be in place before the present CJ, Hamid Mohamad, retires in September this year.

Why?

 Former UMNO man, Zaki, now President of the Court of Appeal, waits in the wings for that appointment that will make him the top dog judge of the land.

If that day should come to pass, would trust have been renewed?

To Zaid, I say you have done well in the short time you have been in cabinet. Much remains to be done, though.

As Ambi said last night, we expect you to keep busy!