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.

Comparative Study: Records of "Justice"

Result of the study
The data below is summarised from a table provided by Malaysian bar on Past LPs’ and current CJ's records of written judgments . It is a comparative study into the number of reported judgments written by the current Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz bin Dato' Sheikh Abdul Halim and his three predecessors, Tun Salleh Abas, Raja Azlan Shah (as HRH then was) and Tun Mohamed Suffian when they sat at the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Apex court. The results are as follows:

Tun Ahmad Fairuz (current Chief Justice)
Period : 1988 to 1995
No. of years : 19 years
No. of written judgments / total no. of cases : 49 out of 198

Tun Salleh Abas
Period : 1979 to 1988
No. of years : 9 years
No. of written judgments / total no. of cases : 107 out of 244

Raja Azlan Shah
Period : 1965 to 1982
No. of years : 16 years
No. of written judgments / total no. of cases : 187

Tun Mohamed Suffian
Period : 1961 to 1982
No. of years : 16 years
No. of written judgments / total no. of cases : 254 out of 382

The exact meaning of "Written judgments" and method of research can be referred in the Malaysian Bar (Badan Peguam Malaysia) homepage .

A major conclusion can be derived from the table provided by Malaysian bar. Of the persons mentioned in the study, Tun Ahmad Fairuz is the longest serving in number of years but produces the lowest number of written judgments (both records in a combination of High Court, Court of Appeal and the Apex court). He is also the only person in the table provided which has less than 100 written judgments.

The article was closed with this paragraph:
"The above analysis provides a useful comparison for those who believe that the number of written judgments by a judge is a good yardstick to determine the suitability of character, temperament and ability of anyone wanting to assume the nation’s top judicial post. "
_______________________________________________

Additional information (unrelated to the study)
Tun Ahmad Fairuz is one of the many names mentioned in Malaysiakini Special Report: The Lingam Tape judicial scandal . The de facto leader of Keadilan (PKR, the opposition party) , Anwar Ibrahim released the tape of a conversation between V.K. Lingam and "another" person on the receiving end, which can be watched here (with English subtitles). A draft transcript of the conversation was prepared by Keadilan.

As of 22nd October 2007, Anwar's Judicial Rot article was published in international magazine Wall Street Journal chronicling the events and happenings (to date) on the so-called investigation on the tape.

Teenagers Smarter Than Nazri? How Come ?

I mean, really.....

How come? These are teenagers, young schooling (college or university) people who have yet to fully graduate with a degree.

From what I have gathered, Nazri, is a law graduate. The ironic thing is, a person like him could make such a grave mistake by saying that there is a Witness Protection Bill in Malaysia when there is none. I am sure Malaysians are waiting for the de facto Law Minister to apologise for this blunder. Not getting what is required, the Minister even continued with calling certain group of people as "Crazy Lawyers". Amazing isn't it?

These teens were writing about the infamous video clip of Shock-A-Lingam. The clip was widely reported in the blogging world and Malaysiakini.

Here, the two pretty teen lady bloggers....
Pinkpau (Su Ann) : The Judiciary Issue
Charlenediane : My Thoughts Exactly

and Nat's of jelas.info ex-colleague....
Johnleemk : Malaysia's Judiciary, Failing Quantity and Quality Tests

What can I say? The "condition" in Malaysia is so bad until the extent that it is no longer even possible to cheat anybody, even teens. What more can I say?

One thing for sure. The internet has globalised the world. It has democratised knowledge. In this information age, it is no longer true that those of older age will know more than those of the younger age. The availability of various data on the web has enabled everyone to capture new things at their whim and fancy. You can only get it if you put in your effort.

Nazri, do you use the net or something? Do you think or do research before you speak? Do you blog?

"Not Asking Them to Write Truthfully" He Said !

Malaysiakini reported about this concerning Tengku Adnan, one of the name mentioned by a person in the Shock-a-Lingam tape.

"Oups, he did it again", the blogger Freethinker wrote in his Observer blog.

To quote Malaysiakini :
Tengku Adnan said this in his speech at the launch of the Bernama-Tourism Malaysia Treasure Hunt 2007 at the MTC. "On this earth, we can do whatever we like, but you must remember that when you die, you have to answer to someone. So whatever you write, especially the press, write responsibly...

"I'm not asking you to write truthfully, but write responsibly," said Tengku Adnan to a crowd of 50 comprising mostly of Bernama staff and sponsor representatives.

Hahaha .... Oh, he is "NOT asking them to write truthfully".

Wait, wait, is there anything wrong with that statement?

Again I repeat, he is NOT asking them (the press) to write TRUTHFULLY ... Hmmn yeah right, ok, darn .. hehehe.

So, what kind of news in the press we have been reading these days? Now I am a bit tad confused.. hehehe.

I thought WRITING RESPONSIBLY IS BY WRITING TRUTHFULLY? It is supposed to go hand in hand with ethical journalism and such. I wonder why Ku Nan would choose to use the word "BUT" to connect those two phrases. Shouldn't it be this :

" I am asking you to write truthfully AND responsibly? "

If Ku Nan thinks truthfulness and responsibility does not gel, then he should define his version of "Responsibility" to us.

For me, responsibility and ethics of journalism is "to tell the truth and nothing but the truth". It is all about impartiality. Journalists should not have any political affiliated mindset when they are writing materials. Ku Nan, do you have something else in mind? Whoops, I question too much.

Sheesh ... English problem or Mental problem or some symptoms in judiciary? Or rather all the above?

Good luck Malaysians. ...

As a minister, we have a role to "speak truthfully and responsibly too". What do you say, Nazri, the Minister and his ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid!’ utterances ?

Is threatening / intimidating whistleblowers a way forward to solve the judiciary issue? It is mind-boggling enough that the authenticity of the video is investigated in priority over the people implicated in the video. For your information, it is almost impossible to make such seamless video of clear graphics and audio. The best graphic team in the world can only afford the Final Fantasy Movie.

Let me give a better idea. Investigate those in the video and you shall know whether the video is genuine. Saves time. That provided the current Malaysian government is sincere in its intentions.

Quote of the day:
Actions are the fruit of all truth, it is by your words you may be heard, but by your actions you will be judged. by Joe Maclaine, Police Blogger.

Malaysians are watching and judging.... Election may be near....

Judiciary Issue! Opposition "Treated", NGOs Ignored?

(Picture taken from Jeff Ooi)

Chronicles of the "Walk of Justice"
"Lawyers don't walk everyday. Not even every month. Not even every year. But when they walk, then something must be very wrong."

These are the words from Chairman of Bar Council, Ambiga Sreenevasan relating to the Walk of Justice to Palace of Justice on 26th September 2007.

Indeed true. Especially when lawyers choose to walk when they are intimidated or had to brave the FRUs and Mother Nature in the form of rain to make their statement known.

The March / Walk for Justice stemmed from a recorded conversation between VK Lingam and purportedly with current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim in 2002 (video format). The Shock-A-Lingam tape was released by former Deputy Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysiakini has the whole set of news listed to cover this infamous video that somehow reflects on the state of the Malaysian judiciary system.

A blogger friend of mine, John Lee had pasted the full transcript of the conversation, taken from Malaysiakini. He asked the right question in the same article which is aptly titled as Malaysia's Chief Justice Rigged an Election?

Jeff Ooi and fellow blogger, Wattahack took a lot of pictures from the momentous event. I felt bad for not being there. I just came back from Macau and missed the whole thing.

Is Malaysia truly independent?
The Bar Council, which purportedly represents 12,000 lawyers submitted a few memorandums calling for an independent judiciary to serve the people. A request for an Independent Royal Commission of Inquiry was brought up as well. Without any form of Independence, justice will not be done in a manner that is beneficial to the law and order of the country. With so many calls for "independent" (inquiry and judiciary) set-ups , it is surely ironic given that the nation had just celebrated its so-called 50th Independence one month ago (31st August). Is our country really "Independent" anyway?

In my opinion, paper value and consistent shouts of "Merdeka" (the Bahasa Melayu word for Independent) carry no meaning if the governance and judiciary is being handled otherwise. Talking is easy. Working something out is tough. Not walking the talk or in Bahasa Melayu "Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin" equals to poor / inefficient governance.

The last I recalled, the citizens gave Pak Lah an almost uncontestable mandate to rule the nation running on the notion that this man would reform the nation, clean up the dirty stuff (corruption etc.) and gear the nation towards a progressive First World status.

If Malaysia is a developed democratic nation such as France and Britain, the ruling party would have been removed in immediacy. After all, the government and judicial system are created for the citizens, not the other way round. If those systems are meant to protect only the interests of a few elite powerfully-connected people, the country might as well be named a feudal country with peasants doing the work and the few invincible lords reaping the rewards. Think of a dictatorial medieval state, for example.

Nazri: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Response
MySinchew.com reported Malaysia: Nazri Ticks Off Lawyers . This is what the infamous minister has got to say:

Statement 1: "Those who participated in the "Walk for Justice", their brains are like opposition party. It is better for them to register as members of opposition party. I will be more delighted if they (Bar Council) register as an Opposition party. So that I know how to handle them," he told Sin Chew Daily when contacted today.

Comment: This is what happens when one protests for a fair judiciary system. A minister like Nazri will treat one like Opposition parties; is it so, Nazri? As a minister, one is supposed to be working for the citizens, not against the citizens. When citizens protest, it is a form of dissatisfaction with the way certain things are being done. Lawyers are citizens too. If the Shock-A-Lingam video expose is true, I am sure not only the lawyers are concerned. The rest of the citizens are dissatisified too.

Furthermore, Opposition party members are also citizens of Malaysia. If they saw something unjust going on, there should be no reason that should stay silent. So, what does Nazri mean by his statement? Is there any other different or more negative treatment for Opposition? Let's hope that's not the case, Nazri. Let's hope there is no double standards. Yeah, right.

As I write, I am starting to recall the Batu Burok incident.

Statement 2: "I will ignore them as if they are non-governmental organizations (NGOS)," he continued.

Comment: This is the biggest blunder of all. Does this statement mean that the lawyers, who don't walk everyday but choose to fight for an independently clean judiciary system will be ignored? I understand that Nazri is a trained lawyer. That is why I am doubly surprised by such words.

How can a trained lawyer ignore the calls of other lawyers for an independent and just judiciary system? What kind of law is the trained lawyer practising then? Surprise, surprise.

NGOs are supposed to represent citizens too. For example, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), National Human Rights Society (Hakam) and Aliran. If MySinchew's derivation is correct, would that mean NGOs are mostly ignored ? Oh dear, what does Hakam represent again? Oh yeah, human rights of Malaysians.

Are they being ignored, Nazri?

Is this a judicial crisis? Please do not shock me by saying "No".

If that is the case Nazri, I can't help but support Mohd Kamal Abdullah's call for your resignation.