He Messed It Up

The dismal state of judiciary of Malaysia is a hot topic lately. It started to heat up with the exposure of a video clip of some lawyer brokering appointments and promotions of high-ranking judges. Although the BN government, via Mr Zam and Pak Lah, among othres, denied any problem with the state of judiciary, it is apparent enough to some of us that something is wrong, very wrong with it.

The 26 September 2007 'Walk for Justice' march at Putrajaya reflected how troublesome the Judiciary system is. Even Sultan Azlan Shah is not happy with the state of the institution he had once headed. With the Executive and Legislation arms of our country closely linked, the only way for a check and balance for our democracy is an independent Judiciary.

And to revive the glory and most importantly its independence, one man must admit his mistake and apologizes for turning our country’s judiciary to its current condition now.

That man is the man who had instigated the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis by sacking the then Lord President of the Supreme Court, Tun Salleh Abas for not willing to bow to his command. That man is the man who had liken the Judiciary as a arm of the government, just like the police and civil servants.

That man is Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad.

If the previous administration will not admit the fault in its policy, I forsee the current administration for using it as an excuse to continue that faulty policy. The current administration might even use the excuse of not willing to embaras, ie continue respecting the legacy of the previous administration.

I know he had retired and just had a heart surgery. But that does not absolve his responsibility for the key part he had played in this matter. I really don’t understand why his name was never drag into this latest outcry for Judiciary independence.