An ounce of courage, a few good men, and the prayers of the good people of this nation

A few days ago, in answer to the question, ‘How should a judge endear him / herself to the Bar’ that was posed in cyberspace, I offered this, in response :

‘Treat lawyers with the same courtesy that the judges themselves expect be shown to them, hear impartially and devoid of any bias, and decide according to the law, without fear or favour.

No more, no less’

On 22nd October, 2008, in the matter of the hearing of an application by RPK for an order of Habeas Corpus, the Honourable Justice Datuk Syed Helmy bin Syed Ahmad did just that.

He returned the courtesy that counsels in attendance showed to the court, and heard all parties with the impartialiity and the absence of bias that his office called for.

After that hearing, when asked by some media people to speculate on the outcome, i had said that an ounce of courage in the right place when judgment is delivered may well see justice done.

This morning, with courage, and without fear or favour, His Lordship decided according to the law.

No more, no less.

In so doing, His Lordship endeared himself, not just to the Bar, but to all good people of this nation.

For those who were in court, His Lordship’s pronouncement of the following words was music to the ears; the balm that soothed away the pain of the last 55 days of having a friend and a patriot taken away from us.

‘…Dan adalah juga diperintahkan bahawa satu Writ Habeas Corpus dibenarkan dan pemohon diperintahkan untuk dibawa ke Mahkamah dengan serta merta tidak melebihi jam 4.00 petang hari ini untuk dibebaskan dengan serta merta’

This morning’s order of the court, in pdf, is linked below, for those of you who might want to download the same and frame it up. I know I’m going to.

habeas-corpus-order-7-11-08

His Lordship rejected the argument that section 8 of the ISA is unconstitutional.

Was he right?

Respectfully, I think not, but that is a debate that will have to be argued on another day before another court.

And it will be argued on another day because, contrary to what has been said and insinuated of late, there still are good men at the Bar who will, in keeping with the highest traditions of the Bar, continue to pursue the ideals of a free and independent people of this good nation.

Front L-R : Azhar, Malik Imtiaz, Chandra. Middle L-R : Neo ( behind Azhar ), Ashok, Sreekant, Amarjit. Back : Salim Bashir & Dipendra

To these warriors, I say that your selfless pursuit of justice will never be forgotten. We, as a nation, are indebted to you.

I’m off to the Shah Alam High Court now to receive my friend.

And to all of you who have continued, in the last 55 days, to hold up the light of hope and belief, and will continue to do so until every ISA detainee is freed and ISA is no more, have I told you lately that I love you?

No?

Well, I do.

See you all on Sunday, 9th November, 2008 at 9.30pm at the Ampcorp vigil.

Posted in: Taking back our country