'Chief justice, you have failed to change the rakyat's perception that the courts are very friendly to Umno and its fellow BN members.'

Chief Justice: I'm Umno-free during my tenure

Cala: Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, you are a senior lawyer having practiced law for a good number of years before accepting the offer from Umno to sit on the bench.

Therefore, you cannot convince anybody that you are able to discharge your duty independently of Umno influence as the chief justice on the basis of your rhetoric.

Only by rejecting that offer from Umno in October 2008 would you be able to dispel the widely-held notion that you are there simply to protect Umno interests.

Credibility is not something for him to lay claim. It is something for a third party, say The World Bank to assess whether Malaysia has progressed since those dark days of ‘Mahathirism'.

Look for six 'Worldwide governance indicators for Malaysia, 1996- 2009' . Report five is on rule of law. Report six is on control of corruption. Sadly, look at the graphs pointing southward.

Vijay47: I am not a lawyer, perhaps to my relief, but like the lead prosecutor said in the on-going Anwar Ibrahim trial, I would love to cross-examine Zaki.

As evidence of your neutrality in the selection of judges, you state that for the task of choosing the bench for the Nizar Jamaluddin vs Zamry Abd Kader case, you handed over the responsibility to the Court of Appeal president. Why? Why did you abrogate your duty?

You seem fully aware that your presence in the judiciary had sullied the Office of Chief Justice. If there was even the least chance that you would be regarded as unworthy of being the chief justice, why did you, an Umno lawyer, accept the post in the first place?

Do you think persons of impeccable standing like Eusoffe Abdoolcader or the Ong brothers - all icons of judicial honour - would have accepted the offer had they been in your shoes?

If you want to taint your name and integrity, that is your personal choice and problem. The shame is that you did it to the Malaysian judiciary; honestas ante honores (honesty before glory).

Joker: CJ, in the legal world, perception of independence is equally important as actual independence. You have failed to change the rakyat's perception that the courts are very friendly to Umno and its fellow BN members.

The very fact that Parliament bulldozed through a bill to guarantee you get a full pension despite having only served for four years whereas other judges will not receive full pension unless they serve for 18 years or more, serves only to increase the public's negative perception of you and your courts.

You have failed terribly in convincing the public that you are 'Umno-free'.

Armageddon: It's hard to believe you, Zaki, but we shall give you the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, you don't have to tell other judges how to pass judgment.

We all ‘makan gaji' and it is normal that we always want to impress our boss. And the judges' way to impress their boss is to make judgments that are in line with the boss.

Anyway, only you Zaki knows the truth. If you had not done anything wrong, your conscience is clear and we wish you a happy retirement. Otherwise, you have to answer to Allah for all the wrongs you did.

AB Sulaiman: Wow, from a 100 percent top of the panel Umno lawyer to 0 percent non-Umno CJ, Zaki is one highly moral and disciplined individual.

The fact though is that all he needed do was to sit on his august chair, and his subordinates would be inclined to make decisions they know would be seen favourably by him. Or else...

Docs: It looks like the next chief justice appointment may be even more tricky for Umno and most notably PM Najib Razak. Not only does Najib need to appoint an Umno-loving chief justice to ensure that the Umno-run courts function unhindered but a person that is aligned to him.

Looking at the trouble brewing between the PM and DPM and if the DPM attempt a party coup similar to the one Najib orchestrated against Pak Lah and things go afoul, the courts may be charged with the task of instating the next PM.

Having the chief justice playing on Najib's team will surely help.

Multi Racial: Judiciary come under Umno's thumb during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's time when the last independent chief justice (lord president then) was removed illegally and replace with a ‘yes' man.

What Zaki statement means that he was not the one responsible, but he did not do anything to make judiciary independent.

Gandhi: I find it hard to believe. You have been an Umno lawyer and appointed by the Umno-dominated BN government. If you had been elected as in some countries do, then I would believe. Tell it to the marines.

Bluemountains: If my boss gives me a triple promotion, I will be forever grateful to him and will do my utmost to do things to please him. It's only human nature. To do otherwise will mean that you are not human.

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