The emotional and personal outburst of a judge against his superior in the public is indeed shocking. It is a tragic reflection of the utter failure of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's 20-year rule. I do not think any propaganda could whitewash the shameful destruction of one of the foundations of the modern and civilised society.

To remedy, the next generation of national leaders must be honest and sincere enough to admit that Mahathir has single-handedly destroyed the judiciary because of his ego and hubris.

Premier-in-waiting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should immediately embark on reform of the judicial system by setting up a judicial tribunal to investigate all the public complaints against judges of dubious characters and flawed judgments.

The legal, constitutional and jurisprudential experts from developed democracies such as US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada should be invited to sit in the tribunal to re-set civilised standards of behaviour and modern modes of judicial reasoning.

If no action is taken to remedy the judicial system, Malaysia is moving toward 'state failure' which would provide the breeding grounds for extremists and fanatics who would exploit people's anger, discontent and alienation to advance their cause. Be forewarned.