I refer to the letter Re-open probe into Syed Ahmad's letter .

To comment on Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz' recent statement that "since there were no names mentioned, there would be no further action on Idid's letter written in 1996 on corruption involving judges".

I am not expecting any action because it would have been too much to ask of the government, given the current turmoil with Mahathir on its tail and all. Bringing down the judicial edifice at this point - already swaying on a bed of sand as Syed Ahmad's note implies - would have dire consequences.

I'm sure Nazri had conferred with colleagues, including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, before addressing the press but he should have been honest about his 'no further action' statement. The letter was seen and read by people, mainly from the legal fraternity, from where it was copied thick and fast before it came to a boil. Then there was a clampdown and everyone I knew who were in possession of it appeared to have lost their copy.

If memory serves me right, the letter named judges and specified sums of money. Syed Ahmad subsequently admitted that he authored it and has recently reaffirmed its contents. But here we have Nazri and his 'no further action' stating that Syed Ahmad did not mention names. Nazri looks quite foolish, at least to those who have already read the letter.

I take it that personalities named in the note are wetting their underpants with Syed Ahmad breaking out and the press having a freer rein without the 'patronage' of their former master. Syed Ahmad might have the evidence to back his allegations and this is probably why the government had refrained from forming charges against him.

Bank journal rolls don't lie, judges do. The government did not want to open a Pandora's box. In essence, the sand under the judicial edifice which goes back to the 80s, is still too delicate to withstand any scrutiny in relation to the letter.

I am sure Syed Ahmad did not expect fire and brimstone after reaffirming his position vis-a-vis his letter last Sunday. Syed Ahmad's Pandora's box Pandora itself will surface again, perhaps on the Internet and a number of personalities, all titled, will thrash about trying to make the named judges smell nice but to no avail.

As long as charges are not formed against Syed Ahmad, the odour of the named judges will stick and rub off upon their defenders.