We have to BERSIH-kan Malaysia

Asia Sentinel reports : Sultan Azlan Shah had spoken . A former Chief Judge of our land he had mentioned some important points that properly reflect the opinion of Malaysians. Below is an important excerpt:

Nothing, the sultan said, “destroys more the confidence the general public, or the business community has in the judiciary than the belief that the judge was biased when he decided a case, or that the judge would not be independent where powerful individuals or corporations are the litigants before him. Confidence in the judiciary may also be eroded where the business community perceives incompetence in decision-making. A judgment in a banking or commercial transaction that is contrary to the established norms or which is incomprehensible in its reasoning is bound to give rise to suspicion and loss of confidence.”

It does not take rocket science to know that His Majesty was talking about the Walk of Justice and the Lingam Tape, two associated most controversial events concerning Malaysian Judiciary at the very least in this decade.

Indeed, His Majesty had said it right. If the public has no confidence with the justice system, it would be best to remove the source that affected the problem. Since the current Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz's contract is expiring (today, if I am not wrong), let him go. Employ a new one.

Isn't that solution easy? Why does the government intend to beat around the bush and raising all kinds of denial on the wish of the People and the Monarch? Just let him go. Did I miss anything? Is there any hidden, unspoken reasons on retaining him?

In fact, Comparative Study: Records of "Justice" shows that Sultan Azlan Shah was more productive than the current figure. Most Malaysians were pleased with the performance of Sultan as the Chief Justice. His words should be heard and heeded.

In the meantime Farish A. Noor of The Other Malaysia wrote the article, Malaysia: The people are fed up . He spoke of a continuation from the Walk of Justice by the Malaysian Bar.

The march’s organisers aim to gather 100,000 citizens at the Merdeka (Independence) Square of the city and then march on to the national palace to present their petition to the King (Agong) himself, calling for the Monarch to intervene and look into their complaints about the poor governance of the country on issues ranging from corruption to abuse of power by the leaders of the ruling UMNO party and the government.

As Latheefa Koya of the People’s Justice Party notes: “BERSIH’s march marks a crucial point in Malaysian history where people from all walks of life, and not just political parties, demand free and fair elections in Malaysia. By doing so they are in fact calling for greater participation in the democratic process”.

The King has already signalled that he is prepared to receive the petition, while other rulers such as Sultan Azlan Shah of the state of Perak have publicly bemoaned the state of the judiciary in Malaysia.

Malaysiakini reported this : Perhimpunan 10 Nov: Bersih temui polis KL Khamis ini . The organisers have just informed the police on this up-and-coming massive gathering.



(More details from Bersih official site)

As a concerned citizen, I need to save Malaysia my homeland. One needs to be brave to achieve something good for the nation.