Archive for category Judiciary
Lingam tape RCI – Mahathir evasive, forgetful and irresponsible
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was a poor witness yesterday at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam videotape scandal.
He was evasive, uncharacteristically forgetful as to be prone to sudden bouts of amnesia on certain crucial events which Mahathir had never been known to suffer from and broke his word that he would respond to all questions to the best of his ability.
Most of the time, Mahathir was evading questions to the best of his ability, including his resort to “prerogative” to refuse to answer questions for the reasons why he rejected the recommendation of the then Chief Justice Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah in 2002 for the appointment of the late Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad as Chief Judge of Malaya, favouring instead of Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.
Mahathir was downright wrong and irresponsible in pleading prerogative to refuse to answer questions why the recommendation of a Chief Justice who was most familiar with the best qualities of his brother judges was rejected.
While the prerogative of the Prime Minister under the Constitution to decide on who should be recommended for appointment to the various high judicial offices in the country is not challenged or doubted, it is wrong to equate of prerogative of a Prime Minister in a democratic system of government with the royal prerogative of divine rule.
This is because the prerogative of a Prime Minister in an elected system of government, while assuring the Prime Minister as having the final say in the decision-making, does not give the Prime Minister the immunity to disregard accountability, transparency and integrity in the exercise of the prerogative.
This is my second disappointment with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal. Two days ago, I asked why the Royal Commission of Inquiry had not subpoenaed V. K. Lingam to be the first witness to ascertain from him whether he conceded the authenticity of the 14-minute tape, especially as he has authorized his lawyer to say that the person in the tape looked and sounded like him Read the rest of this entry »
Smarter RCI – summon Lingam first to give him opportunity to admit authencity of Lingam Tape
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Judiciary on Tuesday, 15 January 2008
I read the first day’s proceedings of the Haidar Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape yesterday with dismay and disappointment.
Why wasn’t senior lawyer V.K. Lingam called as the first witness to give him an opportunity to confirm the authenticity of the 14-minute video clip which would have saved time, money and resources and allowed the real issues impinging on the crisis of national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary to be addressed frontally.
If Lingam is prepared to admit upfront the authenticity of the video clip, then the country can be spared the rigmarole of the completely unnecessary testimony of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officers going to Lingam’s house in Kelana Jaya to take photographs of its living room and compare it with the location in the clip, finding them to be one and the same as well as other related testimony such as expert evidence from a private laboratory in the Spanish capital, Madrid verifying that the voice on the videoclip matched that of Lingam.
In fact, if Lingam admits to the authenticity of the clip, there would be no necessity to even summon businessman Loh Mui Fah who has surfaced publicly to admit that the video clip was taken by his son sometime in late December 2001 when he and his son had gone to Lingam’s house to obtain legal advice on family and business matters. Read the rest of this entry »
Pak Lah’s host of great breaches of great promises
Posted by Kit in Judiciary, Parliament, Police on Friday, 28 December 2007
This Parliamentary Roundtable on the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill is special for more reasons than one.
Firstly, there should be no need for this Parliamentary Roundtable as there should have been a Parliamentary Select Committee on the SCC Bill – what I had described as the fake Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill – to collect public testimony and undertake public consultation on an important piece of proposed legislation with far-reaching consequences on the quality of life and governance in the country.
Secondly, this may be the last Parliamentary Roundtable for the current Parliament if it is dissolved without reconvening again, paving the way for the next general election.
The IPCMC was one of the great promises of the Abdullah premiership and the SCC Bill one of the great breaches by Abdullah of his pledges to the people and country.
It was almost exactly four years ago, 29th December 2003, that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the formation of a Royal Commission into the Police. Read the rest of this entry »
Urgent Parliament motion on Lingam Tape RCI – unacceptable chairman and unsatisfactory terms of reference
Posted by Kit in Judiciary, Parliament on Thursday, 13 December 2007
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.”
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. Read the rest of this entry »
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: Read the rest of this entry »
AG’s Hindraf selective and malicious prosecution – widening crisis of confidence in administration of justice
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Judiciary on Sunday, 9 December 2007
The Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail should drop the charge of “attempted murder” against the “Batu Caves 31” and abandon the manhunt to charge at least another 30 on the same count as it will result in 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.
It is most outrageous and a blot in the Malaysian administration of justice that the Shah Alam Sessions Court could be so harsh, excessive and unconscionable as to accede to the Attorney-General’s outrageous demand to deny bail to the 31 persons charged with the ridiculous offence of attempted murder of a policeman and to send them to Sungai Buloh Prison in the past four days since Thursday.
Sixteen of these 31 had been earlier charged in the Selayang session’s court with being at an illegal assembly in front of Sri Subramaniam Temple at Batu Caves between 1 am and 8 am on Nov. 25, and released on a court bail of RM1,000 each.
They were free for only three days as they were re-arrested for the capital offence of among 31 for the attempted murder of a cop, for which they were not allowed bail and sent to Sungai Buloh Prison pending trail, which could see them being imprisoned for months on end although their guilt has not been established and have their innocence proved at the end of the trial. Read the rest of this entry »
Zaki’s quadruple jump as Court of Appeal President – will he undertake to recuse himself from all cases involving Umno?
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, cannot be more wrong when he cited Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah as a precedent for the fast-track elevation of Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi as the Court of Appeal President, half-a-heart beat away as Chief Justice of Malaysia in ten months’ time in October next year.
Zaki’s triple jump to become Federal Court judge in September without ever being High Court or Court of Appeal judge is completely without precedent in the nation’s judicial history for half-a-century — just like his quadruple jump in three months up the judicial hierarchy to become the Court of Appeal President or his quintuple jump in a matter of a year when he is appointed Chief Justice of Malaysia next October when Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad steps down from the topmost judicial post.
Nazri had been wrongly advised about the history of judicial appointments for Dzaiddin, who served as High Court Judge for more than 10 years and Federal Court judge for seven years before he was unexpectedly appointed the Chief Justice of Malaysia in December 2000 — as the choice of the Conference of Rulers which had rejected the original nominee presented by the then Prime Minister.
What are the grounds for the supersonic flight up the judicial hierarchy for Zaki – apart from his Umno associations – as he is no legal luminary in the Malaysian legal firmament.
At a time when the country is struggling to come out of the 19-year crisis of confidence in the independence, integrity and competence of the judiciary, Zaki’s most unorthodox triple, quadruple and quintuple leap up the judicial hierarchy raises most disturbing questions whether there is any real understanding let alone political will on the part of the top national leadership on the urgent need to restore the Malaysian judiciary to the world-class level it had enjoyed two decades ago.
Or is Malaysia on the occasion of its 50th Merdeka anniversary taking the first step to have an Umno Chief Justice instead of a Chief Justice for all Malaysians by October next year? Read the rest of this entry »
3 critical issues which Cabinet cannot continue to procrastinate tomorrow
Posted by Kit in Judiciary, Parliament, Police on Tuesday, 4 December 2007
There are three critical issues which the Cabinet cannot delay and procrastinate tomorrow, viz:
- A New Deal to end the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysian Indians and all marginalized groups;
- Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal and restore the national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and competence of the judiciary; and
- Make public the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill.
If there is no immediate announcement of the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry after the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, on its composition and terms of reference, the Malaysian public and international community cannot be blamed for coming to adverse inferences about the bona fides and political will of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to come to grips with the nettlesome problem of the 19-year degradation of the system of justice.
Malaysians had been expecting announcements from the Prime Minister about the Royal Commission of Inquiry since last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting but the past week had passed with the daily disappointment of no news on the matter.
Although the past week had been overshadowed by the after-effects and shocks of the 30,000-strong Hindraf demonstration on November 25, with almost daily condemnation by the Prime Minister of the Hindraf allegation of “ethnic cleansing” of Indians in Malaysia, it is a grave misjudgment for anyone to think that the issue of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape and to restore the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary could be sidestepped and even swept under carpet as a result of the Hindraf furore.
Let me remind Abdullah that Malaysians expect positive and concrete announcements about the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry after the Cabinet meeting tomorrow or it will be another blackmark on his administration. Read the rest of this entry »
Hindraf demo – Pak Lah’s “Big Ears” hearing problem
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Election, Human Rights, Indians, Judiciary on Saturday, 1 December 2007
The Star’s front-page headline “PM: I hear you” is symptomatic of the grave hearing problem of the Abdullah premiership which is entering into its fifth year.
Abdullah should ask why despite his pledge from the first days of becoming the fifth Prime Minister that he wanted to “hear the truth however unpleasant” and his claim that he has “big ears”, Malaysians are convinced that he is not hearing anything?
Is this because his gatekeepers have erected an unprecedentedly high wall as compared to the four previous Prime Ministers cutting him off from ordinary Malaysians — I have for instance given up attempts to ask for a meeting with the Prime Minister because it is just impossible to get through his handlers — or is it because he could not hear anything even with his “big ears” if what he is told just enters one “big ear” only to exit the other “big ear” without leaving any impressions?
The very fact that Abdullah must start his fifth year as Prime Minister to shout “I hear you”, “I have big ears”, are the most eloquent proofs that Abdullah is having a grave hearing problem and had not been listening to the people despite having “big ears”!
The letter to Malaysiakini by Penang State Exco Dr. Toh Kin Woon breaking ranks with the top Barisan Nasional leadership dissociating himself from its condemnation of marches, rallies and pickets which were “centred on their illegality, potential threat to peace, the possible destabilization of the economy including frightening away foreign investors” is further proof of Abdullah’s “Big Ear” hearing problem.
When will Abdullah “walk the talk” of his pledge to “hear the truth” and listen to Dr. Toh Kin Woon instead of to the sycophantic top Barisan Nasional leaders whether Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting of MCA, Tan Sr. Dr. Koh Tsu Koon of Gerakan or Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu of MIC that Barisan Nasional leaders “should have been more concerned over the grievances, frustrations and disappointments that have brought so many thousands to the streets in the first place and to seek fair and just solutions to them”? Read the rest of this entry »
RCI on Lingam Tape – test of whether Mahathir is right that Cabinet is “half-past six”
The Cabinet must prove Tun Dr. Mahathir wrong that it is “half-past six’ by establishing a wide-ranging and unfettered Royal Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday to deal with the root-and-branch problem of the crisis of confidence in the judiciary going back for 19 years and not just deal with the “tip of the iceberg” of the Lingam Tape.
International Islamic University constitutional law expert Professor Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari is right his interview with New Sunday Times in describing the Lingam Tape as “just the tip of the iceberg” after the state of the judiciary after 1988.
This led to the question — “If the video clip is the tip, what is the iceberg?” and the following answer in “Putting confidence back in judiciary”:
“A: How the people are selecting the judges, how the judges are having behind-closed-door relationships with lawyers, and how lawyers manage to predict or determine the outcome of cases.
“This is something very serious when it comes to suits. If this is the case, then people won’t have confidence in the judiciary.
“The judiciary’s strength is the public’s confidence. In law, you don’t have to establish bias: if the person cannot convince you of his or her integrity, then he’s got to disqualify himself.
“The mere likelihood (of bias) is good enough to establish a real bias. The moment it (the confidence) is lost, it is difficult to get it back.”
Earlier in the interview, there was a specific Q & A on the “scope of the inquiry”, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
Ambiga as commissioner to ensure credibility and legitimacy of Royal Commission of Inquiry
In completely excluding the Bar Council members as members of the Royal Commission of Inquiry in the Lingam Tape, the government is only undermining its own case and cause that it is concerned about the restoration of national and international confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said yesterday that there was no possibility that Bar Council members could become royal commissioners themselves.
He said: “There is no chance of that happening. How can they act fairly and be unbiased if they have already marched against the judiciary. They have already made their stand.”
This is classic perverse illogic. The 2,000 lawyers who participated in the historic “March for Justice” in Putrajaya on 26th September 2007 did not march against the judiciary. They marched against a judiciary which is subservient, decadent and corrupt. But they also marched for an independent, honest and incorruptible judiciary.
Going by Nazri’s perverse illogic, isn’t the Executive itself compromised by the 19-year history of a tainted judiciary, because of the acts of omission and commission by the Executive, which should render the Ministers unfit and unqualified to exercise powers to appoint members of the Royal Commission concerned about the independence and integrity of the judiciary?
Cabinet Ministers cannot feign innocence in the nearly two-decade-long ravages and degradation of the Judiciary as they are fully part of the process in the undermining of the independence of the judiciary and the undermining of the fundamental doctrine of the Separation of Powers among the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
Let good sense prevail. The Bar Council should not only be allowed to take part in the Royal Commission hearings, the Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan should be seriously considered as a member of the Royal Commission to ensure its acceptability, credibility and legitimacy. Read the rest of this entry »
Truth and justice are no longer Malaysian way
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Judiciary, Media on Friday, 23 November 2007
By Michael Backman
The Age
November 21, 2007
THE Government of Australia will probably change hands this weekend. There will be no arrests, no tear gas and no water cannons. The Government of John Howard will leave office, the Opposition will form a government and everyone will accept the verdict.
For this, every Australian can feel justifiably proud. This playing by the rules is what has made Australia rich and a good place in which to invest. It is a country to which people want to migrate; not leave.
Now consider Malaysia. The weekend before last, up to 40,000 Malaysians took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur to protest peacefully against the judiciary’s lack of independence, electoral fraud, corruption and a controlled media.
In response, they were threatened by the Prime Minister, called monkeys by his powerful son-in-law, and blasted with water cannons and tear gas. And yet the vast majority of Malaysians do not want a change of government. All they want is for their government to govern better.
Both Malaysia and Australia have a rule of law that’s based on the English system. Both started out as colonies of Britain. So why is Malaysia getting it so wrong now?
Malaysia’s Government hates feedback. Dissent is regarded as dangerous, rather than a product of diversity. And like the wicked witch so ugly that she can’t stand mirrors, the Government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi controls the media so that it doesn’t have to see its own reflection. Read the rest of this entry »
Lingam Tape RCI – what actually did the Cabinet decide yesterday?
Malaysians are utterly confused as to what the Cabinet decided on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape and the Judiciary yesterday.
Did yesterday’s Cabinet, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawai was in Singapore for the ASEAN Summit, make the decisions on the terms of reference, scope of power and composition which are to be announced by the Prime Minister — as was the impression given by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz in his comments to the press at the Parliament lobby?
Or did the Cabinet yesterday just decided that decisions on these aspects of the Royal Commission of Inquiry are put off to the next Cabinet meeting, as appears to be gist of what Abdullah said in Singapore last evening?
Whatever the case, it paints a picture of a bumbling and shambolic Cabinet which is neither serious nor professional in handling vital national issues, especially one so critical in determining Malaysia’s international competitiveness such as national and international confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
It has taken the Prime Minister and the Cabinet two months to decide that there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape, when this would have been the right, proper and immediate thing for a government which is serious about accountability, integrity and good governance to do.
Why is the Abdullah government continuing to drag its feet on the Royal Commission of Inquiry, as if this is the least of its concerns?
Furthermore, why has the Haider Panel Report not yet been made public, another implicit undertaking of the Prime Minister? What has the government got to hide in refusing to immediately making public the Haider Report? Read the rest of this entry »
RCI on Lingam Tape – refusal to announce Cabinet decisions today does not serve the cause of public confidence
I am very disturbed by the statement by Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak last evening that there would be no immediate announcement of the Cabinet’s decisions today on the terms of reference, scope of power and membership of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape.
Najib, who will be chairing the Cabinet meeting this morning as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is in Singapore for the ASEAN Summit, must be reminded that it does not serve the cause of public confidence for the government to keep mum after the Cabinet decisions on the terms of reference and composition of the Royal Commission of Inquiry as it will only reinforce widespread anxieties and suspicions that “the leopard cannot change its skin” and that the Royal Commission of Inquiry would be so cribbed, cabined and confined by its terms of reference and scope of power that it would be quite useless in making significant contributions to end the 19-year crisis of confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
Malaysians expect the Cabinet to set an example of “first-world” and “first-class” mentality which does not make a mockery of the pledge of Abdullah to lead an administration characterized by openness, accountability, transparency and integrity.
If the Cabinet slams the Official Secrets Act on its decisionss on the Royal Commission of Inquiry today, refusing to announce them and to ban any reporting or disclosure of the Cabinet decisions, how is the Abdullah administration more open, accountable and transparent than the previous administrations? Instead, we seem to be going into reverse.
If the Cabinet this morning has taken decisions on the Royal Commission of Inquiry, then let Malaysians be informed about them without any delay or the Abdullah Cabinet will be setting a most undesirable example of being evasive and opaque instead of openness, accountability and transparency – completely antithetical to Abdullah’s pledge of wanting to lead a Malaysia with “First World Infrastructure, First-World Mentality”. Read the rest of this entry »
Commendable candidates for RCI – Tunku Aziz, Raja Aziz Addruse, Param Cumaraswamy, Yeo Yang Poh and Chooi Mun Sou
I am taken by surprise at the Bernama report quoting the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz as saying that the names of candidates for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape and Judiciary will be tabled at tomorrow’s Cabinet.
This is because the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given Malaysians the impression that the Cabinet tomorrow will decide on the Royal Commission’s terms of reference, while the Cabinet the following week on the composition of the Royal Commission.
Now the whole process of establishing the Royal Commission of Inquiry seems to have been telescoped, without any consultation whatsoever whether on its terms of reference or composition. This is quite ominous.
I had proposed that scholar Prince, Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr. Nazrain Shah will be a very good choice as Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to restore confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary, although the ideal candidate would be Sultan Azlan Shah especially as he was Lord President during the golden era of the Malaysian judiciary a quarter of a century ago.
I had also suggested some names formerly from the judiciary as appropriate members of the Royal Commission, namely fomer Chief Justice Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah, former Court of Appeal judges Datuk Shaikh Daud and Datuk N. H. Chan and former High Court judge and leading Malaysian jurist Datuk Seri Visu Sinnadurai.
Today, I wish to propose some names from the legal and non-legal circles who will be regarded by all sectors of Malaysian society as eminently qualified to serve on the Royal Commission which must play a critical role to restore national and interenational confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary after almost two decades of ravages and degradation, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
RCI on Lingam Tape – grave concerns as no consultation whatsoever and indications of restricted terms of reference
Although the Cabinet last week decided on the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal, and it is to decide on its terms of reference on Wednesday, I am very concerned that there had been no consultation process whatsoever on its terms of reference and composition in the past five days.
This is a matter of grave concern as all indications point to a very restricted terms of reference which is going to spark a new outcry, as Ministers are still in thick denial of the need for far-reaching judicial reforms to check the rot in the past two decades to restore national and international confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
This could be fathomed from the statements of two of the three Ministers who had been appointed to study the Haider Report on the authenticity of the Lingam Tape.
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad gave very clear indication that the terms of reference will be a very restricted one when he said that the royal commission would have the power to call anyone to assist in its inquiry. Read the rest of this entry »
RCI on Lingam Tape – hold your welcome with disturbing indication it will be very restricted inquiry
The welcome for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s announcement of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Lingam Tape scandal will have to be conditional as there is disturbing indication that it will be a very restricted and circumscribed inquiry denied the task to resolve the long-standing national and international crisis of confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary which had gone from bad to worse for nearly two decades.
It is most unusual and not a very good sign that Abdullah’s announcement of a royal commission came solely from a Bernama report instead of a proper media conference before a battery of local and foreign journalists.
Abdullah had stumbled from one faux pax to another in the mishandling of the Lingam Tape scandal, taking two full months to arrive at the decision to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry, when such a decision should have been made right from the very beginning when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made public the first eight minutes of the 14-minute Lingam Tape if the Prime Minister had been serious with his pledges of integrity and a trustworthy government, two of the ten principles of Islam Hadhari.
Abdullah said in the Bernama report that the Cabinet had decided at its last meeting on Wednesday to set up the royal commission and the Cabinet will decide next Wednesday on the commission’s terms of reference. The members of the royal commission will be determined after its terms of reference were finalized.
Something is clearly amiss, which does not reflect well on the Cabinet with regard to the professionalism, competence or high standards of the Cabinet decision-making process. Read the rest of this entry »
Raja Nazrain very good choice as Chairman of RCI to restore confidence in judiciary
From the statement by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim that the government was open to the possibility of setting up a royal commission on the “Lingam” videoclip, it is evident that there is a significant momentum which will make any failure to establish such a Royal Commission of Inquiry a direct, personal and major crisis of confidence for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Early this month, when I told Parliament that I had seen and vouched for the existence of the second part of the 14-minute Lingam Tape, before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim released another 10 seconds of the six-minute portion which had been withheld from the public so far, there was no surprise, astonishment or demand from the government or Haidar Panel that I reveal the details or the source.
This could only mean that by that time, all those involved in authority knew that the Lingam Tape was genuine and that any attempt to deny or ignore it would be at their grave personal peril in terms of public credibility and integrity. Read the rest of this entry »
LingamGate – Give Rais’ book “Freedom under Executive Power in Malaysia” to all Cabinet Ministers
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz announced yesterday that three senior ministers have been appointed to study the three-man Haidar Panel report on the Lingam Tape on the perversion of the course of justice on fixing of judicial appointments and court judgments.
Nazri said that the three Ministers, i.e. Home Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, Culture and Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim and he himself, were given the task by the Cabinet due to their legal background and because all three had been in charge of law affairs in their ministerial portfolios and to make recommendations on the appropriate action to be taken at the next Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The Cabinet had also decided that each minister be given a copy of the report.
Two questions immediately come to mind.
Firstly, why wasn’t the Haider Report made public immediately? Why must Cabinet Ministers read the Haider Report first, to find out whether it is good or bad for the government, before deciding whether it should be made public?
We should follow the best international practices of countries which fully practice accountability, transparency and integrity where such inquiry reports, whether by Royal Commission or inquiry committees, are made public at the same time they are submitted to the appointing authorities — to show that the government has nothing to hide, regardless of the findings.
Secondly, why should there be another three-man Ministerial Committee to study the Report of the three-man Haider Panel on the Lingam Tape? One does not need to have any legal background or experience in Cabinet in charge of law affairs to decide what is right and proper to be done on a question of accountability, transparency and integrity, not only about the Lingam Tape revelations about the perversion of the course of justice on fixing of judicial appointments and judicial decisions but the urgent need for judicial reforms. Read the rest of this entry »
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