Have anyone see My Lawyer?
————————–
What is the next day?
I get a lot of delays
their lawyers needed not say
as the judges cared not the way.

I pay the fee
and did the trees
on what to trace
for the case!

I do the draft
even my lawyer may laugh
to save his rush
and even my BOD
to save his being bald.
But, why still delay
to press no issue to be laid
or even make no way
to the mention days!

The BAR also no say
so do I need to pray
to send God on the way
to save??

So without fear he goes!
In whose favour I do not know!

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 29, 2007): A quick-take on what Perak’s Sultan Azlan Shah, a former Lord President, has to say about the Judiciary today:

• Recently, there have been even more disturbing events relating to the judiciary reported in the press.

• I found it necessary to speak at some leangth on matters ( regarding judiciary) because it is my earnest hope that the Malaysian judiciary will regain the public’s confidence and it will once again be held in the high esteem as it once was held.

• A judiciary loses its value and service to the community if there is no public confidence in its decision-making.

• It is of the essence of a judge’s character that he must be a person of unquestionable integrity who brings an unbiased mind to his task. Like Caesar’s wife. He should be above suspicion.

• There is no reason why judges with the assured security of tenure they enjoy under the Constitution should not discharge their duties impartially, confidently and competently

• Judges must piously resist the lure of socialising with business personages and other well-connected people. They may discover at their peril that they have compromised themselves in the cases that come before them with the unedifying of recusal application.

• Judging in a diverse society is not an easy task. Judges in many parts of the world face similar difficulties … Judges in Malaysia must be ever mindful that they are appointed judges for all Malaysians.

• The inevitable consequence of incompetence is delayed judgments and backlog in cases would lead to all round of dissatisfaction … Surely, such a situation cannot be tolerated in any progressive nation.

About lawyers today:

• The Bar and its leadership must ensure there is a high standard of integrity and ethics among its members. A Bar that is riddled with bad practices cannot assist the administration of justice.

• Judges are supposed to be no respecters of persons who appear before them. This rule applies not only to litigants but also to lawyers. It’s not just a matter of prudence and good practice, but fundamentally one of ethics.

• There have been allegations against some lawyers that in clear dereliction of their responsibilities, they have either misled the courts, or attempted to choose the judges or courts for their cases to be heard so as to obtain a favourable decision in their client’s favour. This is a serious interference with the administration of justice and the process of the court.

Here is the full text of Sultan Azlan Shah’s opening address at the 14th Malaysian Law Conference taken from the Bar Council website (www.malaysianbar.org).

Website - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/view/11882/27/

and the closing of the doors to good governance, transparency on the pretext of supproting the Malays.

End of the day he exploited the ignorant Malays and set them against the Chinese and Indian.

today we have been left with the shambles of a torn and tattered judiciary, a corrupt polic force, a 99% corrupt cabinet and a Malaysia..the world is laughing at…

And where is the 750 billion ringgit worth of oi money…oh Mamakkutty 22

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

David Copperfield will not be coming to Malaysia after all. It seems he has got himself entangled in some sex scandal. Actually, David Copperfield should apply to come under the ‘Malaysia your second home’ programme. I am sure he would feel very much at home considering that Malaysia is a sex scandal haven, sort of like tax-free haven in some countries. Hmmm…..tax-free haven…..that sounds good. We can call Malaysia a sex-free haven in the spirit of what the country can offer those who wish to make this country their second home.

David Copperfield’s expertise would also be much in demand in Malaysia, other than the sex part of course, because in this country there is a dire need to make things disappear. Imagine if they had used DC (David Copperfield) instead of C4 to make pesky lovers who won’t take ‘no!’ for an answer disappear? Then, instead of just making the immigration records disappear, David Copperfield could make the whole Immigration Department disappear like he did the Boeing 747 right before our very eyes. This way no one would know that certain immigration records had been deleted.

There is something else they wish would disappear as well. And this is the Lingam Tape. The Anti-Corruption Agency visited Anwar Ibrahim yesterday and gave him till Thursday to hand over the Lingam Tape or else they will charge him and put him on trial. Anwar has been served an official notice but that is a mere formality. They already know that he won’t hand over the tape so they just want it on record so that they will have grounds to charge him.

They actually do not need the tape at all. It makes no difference if Anwar hands it over or not because Nazri already said that the tape is inadmissible as evidence. In other words, even if Anwar does hand over the tape, it still can’t be used as evidence in any criminal proceedings against Lingam. So why then do they insist that Anwar hand it over?

Firstly, if Anwar does hand it over then they can get rid of it like they did the DP Vijenderan porno videotapes. Once the Attorney-General rules that there is no case and NFA (no further action) required, then they can destroy the tapes like they did in the Vijenderan episode. Most importantly though, they know that Anwar will not hand it over, so this would be grounds to prosecute him, get him declared guilty, and then he will be barred another five years from contesting the general election.

Currently, Anwar will be eligible to contest the general election if it is held after 14 April 2008. With an additional five-year ban, Anwar will not be able to contest the election until at least 2013. Assuming he is arrested this Thursday, charged on Friday, and the trial is held early next year, it would be a year or so from now before they obtain a conviction. So Anwar will have to wait until the Thirteenth General Election around 2013 or 2014 before he can contest a seat. By then he would be 66 or 67 and maybe too old and too long out of circulation to do much damage to Umno.

Ensuring that Anwar can’t contest the general election is very crucial. They are seriously considering announcing the dissolution of Parliament on 9 November whereby the Twelfth General Election will be held on 25 November. It seems the feng shui expert has indicated this as a good day being the year, month and day of the pig and all that. If they miss this date then the next dates would have to be 15 December 2007 or 15 March 2008.

Now, some are of the opinion that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should get the election over and done with as soon as possible, preferably this year. Next year, the government will have to increase petrol prices, toll charges, and many other things as well. You will need at least six months after all these price increases before calling for an election to allow time for the voters to calm down and forget the pain of the price increases. This means that the last feng shui date of 15 March will not be possible. This would be too close to all the price increases. The ‘safe’ date would have to be way after June 2008, maybe towards the end of 2008 when Anwar Ibrahim would by then be eligible to contest.

Rushing into an election before 14 April 2008 is too risky. And to hold it this year is even riskier. The Chinese voters are very upset about the state of the economy and many other matters such as the body snatching episodes, the pig farmers skirmish, the keris waving incident, the Negarakuku storm in the teacup, etc. And with Ali Rustam’s 15 October outburst in Melaka where he said that Umno does not need the non-Malays to stay in power another 50 years, now the Indian voters are upset as well. Umno will have to depend solely on Malay support and this would be extremely risky seeing that PAS and PKR are also fishing in the same waters.

Barisan Nasional won 91% of the seats the last election and this time around they want 100%; in tune with their pembangkang sifar (zero opposition) campaign which they announced. Okay, maybe they can’t win 100%. But it most certainly has to be more than 91% rather than less. Even 95% would be acceptable. But it must never be 80%, if not then Abdullah would be perceived as losing his grip.

To get 95%, let alone 100%, in the present climate is impossible. Even repeating the March 2004 performance of 91% is dicey. 80% may be more like it; which means that the opposition will sweep at least 50 seats or so. And the opposition is currently well-placed in achieving that. 25 seats would go to PAS, 20 to DAP, and another 5 to PKR. That would be the bottom figure while the ceiling could be 30 seats to PAS, 25 seats to DAP and 8 to PKR, giving the opposition a total of 63 seats or almost 30% of the seats in Parliament. This result would mean that Kelantan would remain under opposition control while the ruling coalition will lose its two-thirds majority in the State Assemblies in Terengganu, Kedah and Penang (if Terengganu does not fall back to the opposition).

Okay, I admit, I am looking at the ideal situation and a level playing field in saying all this. Currently, the playing field is not level and things are not ideal. Hundreds of thousands of ‘government’ voters have been injected into opposition strongholds while opposition supporters have been transferred out against their will to other constituencies where their presence can do no harm simply because the ruling coalition has a comfortable enough majority and can therefore absorb the surplus opposition voters.

But the voters are not leaving well enough alone. They know about the rampant and blatant gerrymandering (where government seats have only 5,500 voters against opposition seats of more than 100,000 voters), phantom voters (where dead people come back from the grave to vote and those aged more than 100 still vote), postal votes (which ‘coincidentally’ all go to the ruling party), foreigners who are now Malaysian citizens and therefore can now vote (in the millions), etc. On 10 November 2007, thousands will be marching from Dataran Merdeka to hand a petition to the Agong, His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah, to appeal for His Majesty’s intervention in the matter.

Now, there are some who are questioning as to why the people are turning to the Agong and they argue that His Majesty should not be dragged into politics. Let me put it this way. If a policeman walks pass a house and sees a man repeatedly hitting his wife on the head with a golf club, what should he do? If he was to intervene can we say he is being dragged into a marital problem and should not get involved in what clearly is a matter between a husband and his wife?

The policeman is paid a salary and it is his job to protect people and to keep the peace. Notwithstanding this is a dispute between a husband and wife, a crime is being committed and it is the policeman’s job to do something about it. He is being paid a salary from the pockets of the tax-payers. So it is his solemn duty to intervene and protect the life of the unfortunate woman who is the victim of violence. This is not a private matter between the husband and wife or about it being a marital problem fought in the privacy of their home.

In that same spirit, the Agong is being paid a salary to do a job and it is His Majesty’s job, as the Constitutional Monarch, to uphold the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. And His Majesty’s salary comes from the pockets of the tax-payers who in this case are also the voters. It is therefore the job of the Agong to do something and it will not be a case of ‘interfering’ or ‘being dragged’ into a political matter as what the critics argue.

Under Article 40(2)(b) of the Constitution, the Agong can withhold consent for the dissolution of Parliament. The Prime Minister can request the Agong’s consent for Parliament to be dissolved of course, but the Agong does not have to say ‘yes’. His Majesty can say ‘no’ and ask for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to be set up to look into Malaysia’s electoral system. And if the Royal Commission finds that there is rampant and blatant fraud in the electoral system, then His Majesty can ask that the whole system be reformed before consent is given for Parliament to be dissolved and new elections to be called. In fact, it is even within the powers of the Agong, as allowed under Article 40(2)(a) of the Constitution, that he appoint a caretaker Prime Minister until all the reforms are fulfilled.

That is the power of the Agong. In fact, that is not only His Majesty’s power but it is his job as he is earning a salary from the tax-payers’ pockets who are also the voters. So the Agong must do all this. It is not a choice where he can decide whether he would like to do it or not. It is mandatory.

So, as much as they may plan when to hold the elections, the matter may actually be out of Umno’s and Abdullah Badawi’s hands. In the end it could be the Agong who decides although that is still open for speculation. Of course, whether His Majesty will exercise his authority and fulfil his constitutional duty is left to be seen. But the bottom line is: it is His Majesty’s constitutional function and within his constitutional authority to ensure that the next election will not be as fraudulent as the last one where Barisan Nasional swept 91% of the seats when they should have won less than 80%. And even more important is to ensure that this mounting fraud since the last election will not allow Barisan Nasional to win 95% of the seats or more.

Sure, Barisan Nasional will still form the next government. And they might lose only one state; or two at the most. But let it be on a level playing field and based on the peoples’ choice and not in an election shamelessly rigged to give this David Copperfield-like illusion that Abdullah Badawi is so popular, even more popular than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ever was — which is actually the real purpose here; to show Mahathir that, in spite of all the attacks and criticism, Abdullah Badawi can still win and even improve his win far beyond what Mahathir has ever achieved in 22 years as Prime Minister (clever boy this Khairy, no?)

Taking all these possible scenarios into consideration, Anwar has to be neutralised. If for any reason the next general election needs to be delayed beyond 14 April 2008, say early 2009 instead, then Anwar has to be barred from contesting the election. And for this to happen he has to be arrested, put on trial, found guilty, sentenced (with no less than a RM2,000 fine or, better still, jail), then Anwar will be barred from contesting for five years from the date of sentencing. Elementary, my dear Watson.

But will the Agong and his brother Rulers do such a thing? Will the Agong and his brother Rulers intervene on behalf of the Rakyat and ensure that justice is done? Well, if I know the answer to that then I will be the next feng shui master of Malaysia. I don’t tell fortunes. I look at scenarios and try to plot the chart. For example, if it has been raining every evening the last seven days and today I am again seeing dark clouds over my house, then I will predict rain and walk around with my umbrella. That is not fortune telling. That is studying the trend and looking at today’s environment and assuming that this looks like rain today.

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will be having an audience with His Majesty the Agong. The Prime Minister wants the Agong to approve the extension of the present Chief Justice, Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim. His Majesty the Agong, however, refuses to agree to the extension. At the end of this month will be the Conference of Rulers and on the agenda is the extension of the Chief Justice’s tenure. At this point of time all the Rulers appear united and solidly behind the Agong. On Thursday, a petition of more than 4,000 signatures will be delivered to His Majesty the Agong appealing to His Majesty to not approve the extension of the Chief Justice. On 26 September, 2,000 lawyers marched from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister’s office. On 25 October, 4,000 signatures will be sent to the Agong. (See notice here).

There is no way the Agong can refuse the will of the people. The government works for the people. The Agong, who is the Supreme Head of the Federation, works for the people. They are all paid a salary to serve the people. The people should not be afraid of the government. The government must be afraid of the people.

Website - http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/corridors.php?itemid=9354

FOREWORD to “MAYDAY FOR JUSTICE”
by
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj
The First Prime Minister Of Malaysia

This book tells the most shocking story in modern legal and judicial
history.

As one of the architects of the Malaysian Constitution, I must say it
never occurred to the Constitutional Commission headed by Lord Scott Reid,
that the day would come when the Head of the Judiciary, the Lord President,
would be faced with charges of conduct unbecoming of a judge.

There are special provisions in the Constitution for removing judges
from office, but there is no specific provision in the Constitution for the
removal of a Lord President himself. The thought was and is repugnant to
any man of the law.

Yet today we are lumbered with a judiciary of the most extraordinary
character, created as a direct result of the disaster which overtook the
Most Honourable Justice Tun Mohamed Salleh bin Abas, Lord President of
the Courts of Malaysia, who was accused of misbehaving himself, and removed.

A man does not climb that long ladder to the pinnacle of our judicial
system without proving himself every inch of the way to be upright, and
extremely fastidious about his honour. His integrity must have been
proven again and again in his judicial actions, his private life and all his
work in the public domain. Any man who was any less than that could not have
even approached that position which, by its very nature, presupposes
character of the greatest probity and rectitude. The very act of
appointing such a man means that he is beyond reproach.

Yet, exactly such a man was accused of misbehaviour as a judge! He was
publicly humiliated and then removed from his post on what I can only
describe as trumped-up charges.

Tun Mohamed Salleh Abas, a man of humble origins - his father was a sailor
and small village trader - rose to become the highest judge in the land through
sheer hard work, a proven dedication to service and a great love for the law.
He is also known to be a scholarly man, and a deeply religious Muslim.

I will not try to tell his story even in summary because this volume tells it all
clearly and as truthfully as it is possible without breaking the laws covering
official secrets, sedition and libel - though the disgraceful events surrounding
his dismissal invited comments which courted all these dangers.

That the Lord President was wronged was obvious not only to the
intellectuals in the country and many countries abroad but also to the
average man in Malaysia. I myself repeatedly objected to the action
against the Lord President and the way the Tribunal to remove him was conducted.
There were a great many protests by many learned men and women against
the action by the Government, but these were ignored by the authorities as
well as the frightened press and mass media.

The world, nevertheless, found out what was going on. Condemnation of
the affair from across the world made shameful reading. But I must say that
the enormity of the travesty of justice perpetrated in order to remove
Tun Salleh (and two other Supreme Court Judges) is disclosed in these pages
in such detail, with such penetrating insights, that it will surely further
shock and scandalize the civilised world.

Episode after episode in the book shows the spiritual corruption, the
cynicism, the moral turpitude, the viciousness and the horrible
ruthlessness which attended the exercise of falsely accusing him,
hastily putting him before a Tribunal of questionable character and quickly
removing him from office.

I do not know how any honourable government can stay in office after
this book has been published. It constitutes a denunciation which cannot be
answered without confessing to the most dishonourable conduct in public life.

In my time I participated in and witnessed a great many dramatic events
in the national life. There were great days and there were tragic ones,
there were days of high euphoria and days of great sorrow, there were days to
be proud of and some days to be ashamed of. But nothing that happened in
all those years from 1955 to 1970 when I headed the Government, or in the
days of Tun Abdul Razak who succeeded me and later in the years of Tun
Hussein Onn, nothing occurred in all those years that so sullied the fair name
of this country so completely as this sordid affair: it struck a terrible
blow, not only to the independence of the Malaysian Judiciary - and
ruined the careers of at least three honourable men - but to national pride
itself. This affair has disillusioned and demoralised many lawyers. It
has severely damaged the people’s faith in the law and brought several
judges into disrepute. It will take a long time for us to recover from the
horror and shame of this episode.

Our judges are the guardians of the Constitution and thus our democratic
system of Government. When they lose their independence our precious
freedoms are at once threatened. And our judges were indeed deprived of
their independence in the year 1988. We are therefore in grave danger
today.

We must take care not to allow the mere appearance of security to lull
us into believing that because there appears to be no immediate physical
danger, all is well. it is not true. As the Malay people say, “Apabila
air tenang, jangan disangka tiada buaya ” (Because the water is still, do
not think there are no crocodiles below.)

It was not always like this.

Our independence started off very well because of our fairness, our
integrity and our honesty. We take pride in the fact that we were the
only country in Southeast Asia which won the battle against the communists
fairly and squarely. We beat President Sukarno of Indonesia in his plan
to “Crush Malaysia” and we kept the Philippines from pursuing their claim
to Sabah. We established ASEAN as an organisation and brought better
understanding not only among these peoples of Southeast Asia but also
among other countries.We even helped President Ngo Dinh Diem keep the
communists out of Vietnam and develop Vietnam on the same basis as we
had developed Malaysia. (But the Americans took up the fight and changed
tactics, and the Vietnam war ended tragically).

Times have changed.

This terrible episode of sacking the Lord President should.serve as a
lesson to the people of Malaysia as well as to people in many developing
countries where judicial independence is seen by those who wield power
only as an inconvenience and a threat to what they arrogantly believe is
their God-given right to do as they please.

The way I look at it, they have have made a martyr of Tun Salleh and he
deserves to be honoured and respected as such. What happened to him may
prevent others in this country from suffering the same fate.

What is written in this book will be a lesson to young Malaysians who
have a long way to go. Let us try do what is right for the future
generations. I sincerely hope this story is widely read and always
remembered by the people.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra

Website - http://members.tripod.com/~Anwarite/tunku.htm