I thought that Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin's assertion that Anwar Ibrahim's upcoming judicial review of his corruption and sodomy charges was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's acid test as misplaced.

Why? Because even though the Malaysian judiciary is practically an arm (a rather weak o­ne at that) of the executive, it is legally a separate and distinct institution from not o­nly the executive but the legislature (Separation of powers, say it together now!).

And we must hold fast and as long as we can to this legal doctrine because if we don't, it means that we've embraced dictatorship both legally and administratively. So let's get something straight; the responsibility of any decision made by the judiciary falls squarely o­n them, not the executive.

We know what the executive (or its cronies) wants but it is for the judiciary to see whether the evidence or law is in favour of the executive.

Now I also disagree with the use of the word "test". It connotes a sense of it being a o­ne-off thing. Furthermore, this judicial review decision is pivotal and would o­nce again dictate the attitude and trend of the judiciary. I prefer to think it of it as another fork in the road of the judiciary's path to salvation or damnation.

In the past, it has taken rushed headlong into the latter path (check out Anwar's conviction, the Sugumar Balakrishnan decision, the multi-million dollar defamation suits, the Rahim Noor sentence, the Ayer Molek case, etc.).

The question now is whether the judiciary will trudge the same worn out path it has been trudging o­n for past few decades or take the path less traveled. For myself, I'm hoping it takes the o­ne Robert Frost took.