INTERVIEW Though it is often claimed that the Judiciary normally makes judgments in favour of the federal government, recently retired Chief Justice Zaki Azmi insists that the facts speak otherwise.

If one goes through all the cases brought against the federal government, Zaki said in an interview with Malaysiakini, one will find that the government lost more cases than it won.

zaki azmi interview 140911 "The best example is the Felda (Kemahang 3) case. Do you know who the Felda chairperson is? The prime minister. Amidst the hoo-ha, they cannot afford to pay the money. I made the decision. I gave RM11 million to the settlers," he said.

Zaki explained that when he presided over the matter in the Federal Court, the Felda lawyer had failed to attend the (High Court) proceedings and that was why the settlers won the case in the first place. Hence, he said, Felda should sue its lawyer.

"I received feedback (from the government, which asked), how could I arrive at such a decision, but I replied that that is the law," he said in the interview conducted last week.

On Jan 19, 2010, the Federal Court refused to grant leave to Felda in its appeal when it was ordered to pay RM11 million in compensation for cheating 354 settlers eight years ago.

The three-member panel that heard the matter was led by Zaki and included Justice Gopal Sri Ram and recently-appointed Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin.

The attempt by Felda, or the Federal Land Development Authority, to seek a review of the Jan 19 decision before another panel, chaired by the then Court of Appeal president Alauddin Md Sheriff, also failed.

Many win habeas corpus cases

Stressing his point further, Zaki said the judiciary had also ruled against the government in many habeas corpus applications that allowed detainees held without trial to be released.

"Just look how many people have we released... court records are no secret, so how many cases were decided against the government, including habeas corpus cases?

zaki azmi interview 140911 "I suspect more decisions are made against the government than for it (in recent years)," he said.

However, Zaki added, negative public perception of the Judiciary's independence continued to linger and it was difficult to change this.

"General public perception is not the truth. It is difficult to change the perception as to whether the court is biased or not," he said.

On the subject of habeas corpus cases, Zaki said he had directed the courts to set deadlines in order for such cases to be heard within a month before the High Court level and within two weeks at the Federal Court level.

However, in practice, some cases may drag on due to various reasons, but he said the reforms that he had introduced had drastically improved the process.

"At the most, it would take six months, unlike before where habeas corpus cases would take up to two years to be heard or disposed of," he said.

Detainee's lawyers at fault too

Often in the past, habeas corpus cases would be rendered academic by the time they were heard and the new directives were made to address this situation, Zaki added.

However, he pointed out, it was common for a detainee's lawyer to drag the case - meaning that the widely-held belief that government lawyers were the ones seeking postponements was not true.

"I'm not ready with the records, but you can ask my successor (Justice Arifin Zakaria). Ask him who is delaying. It is not the government.

zaki azmi interview 140911 "If you say your client is unfairly detained, you will want to move the case as fast as possible so that he can be released, if he is an innocent person.

"There was one case I handled in the Federal Court... there were 15 postponements and all of these were moved by the detainee's lawyer," he said.

On a lighter note, Zaki said he may write a book, or even do a study on how many cases the government had won or lost, as one of his retirement projects.

"For this, I have to seek permission from the present chief justice to gain access to (court) records. Maybe that is what I should do to clear the (negative) perception (of the courts) and just to set the record straight. Maybe this can help (clear the perception).

"What is the percentage of cases the government won and how much it lost? I suspect there are more decisions made against the government then for it," he said.

VIDEO | 4.48 mins

THE ZAKI AZMI INTERVIEW

Zaki: Rulings against gov't show courts are fair

Former CJ Zaki disclaims role in Perak crisis

Zaki: Good judges don't come cheap

YOURSAY: Not being 'involved' won't absolve ex-CJ