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No one should be judged without a fair hearing

COMMENT One of the basic rules of boxing is that once you have floored your opponent, you are not allowed to kick him in the guts and then stand on his chest to proclaim victory.

 

That would be considered unsportsmanlike behaviour and you would be severely reprimanded for doing so. In fact, you would probably lose the match despite having had your gloved right hand in the air and your booted left foot on your opponent's lifeless body, declaring that dubious victory.

 

The same rules apply in every day civilised life. The human race has advanced to such an extent that it is now considered bad behaviour and against pure common decency to take unfair advantage of a situation to the detriment of an adversary in circumstances where that adversary is unable to retaliate.

 

In legal parlance, this is known as natural justice and is one of the basic tenets of the concept of human rights.

 

Fundamental to this entire concept is the right to be heard in defence of accusations made against you, or rather the right to a fair hearing ( audi alteram partem ). In other words, it is legitimately deficient to come to any conclusion unless two sides to any story are presented for adjudication.

 

I am of course making reference, once again, to lawyer cum prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's notorious 'road show' held on behalf of the Umno government, subsequent to the Federal Court decision upholding Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's conviction...

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