Observers of the Malaysian judiciary, desperate for the smallest signs of improvement in what has been widely perceived to be a seriously degraded institution, lauded the appointment of Mohd Dzaiddin Abdullah as Chief Justice. The general acclaim that greeted this appointment seemed initially to have been justified with a number of hard-hitting public statements by the new CJ, the most prominent of which was a frank acknowledgement of the judiciary's battered image and a professed resolve to repair this.

But if Dzaiddin is well aware of the judiciary's almost total loss of prestige not only at home, but also abroad, the elevation of Mohtar Abdullah to the post of Federal judge does nothing to reverse the path of decline.

There can hardly be a more unsuitable person to serve the course of judicial independence than Mohtar, whose knee-bending allegiance to the Executive is a byword. With good reason, jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim described Mohtar as the "most repulsive Attorney-General in Malaysian history".

One should not, at this stage, cast aspersions on Dzaiddin's integrity. But if Dzaiddin has been unable to oppose what he privately felt to be a wholly injudicious appointment, then one is left wondering as to what real powers he has over judicial reform. And despite all the goodwill in the world, there will be little that he can do if his hands are tied, whatever latitude is given to his tongue.

If indeed, the Executive still holds sway over the judiciary, then in essence, nothing has changed. Anwar will still be denied natural justice in his forthcoming appeal hearings, the government will continue to win all the cases that it wants to win and the image of the judiciary will be no better than it was under the controversial Eusoff Chin.

We must now wait to see if the supposed new judicial dawn will rise up like the sun. One cannot, however, help feeling already chilled by the recent news of Mohtar's new role, and if it is to be a false dawn, one wonders whether the long night will ever end for justice-loving Malaysians.