It is most disheartening to read about Court of Appeal Judge Mokhtar Sidin's statements alleging the Bar Council taps the phones of its own members ([#1] We don't tap phones: Bar Council [/#], March 7).

How is it possible that despite efforts by the new Chief Justice and the de facto Law Minister to improve the battered image of the Malaysian judiciary, senior judges continue to make such gung-ho sensational statements when they should only be making good legal judgments?

Justice Mokhtar only gives cause to the world to continue laughing at the Malaysian judiciary's amazing ability to make themselves look ridiculous.

Most informed Malaysians know that Malaysia's Special Branch police routinely engage in phone-tapping and all sorts of other electronic communication interception activities. Thus, if Justice Mokhtar is so enamoured by Special Branch eavesdropping tactics, he should just resign from his judicial appointment and haul himself off with cloak and dagger to join those SB-types across the road at Bukit Aman.

And if not, taxpayers expect that he settle down to some real judicial work like getting rid of those impossible case backlogs and pronouncing good judgments that will make us proud of our judiciary.