YOURSAY | 'VK Lingam is just a victim. Why are his masters allowed to roam free?'

Lawyer VK Lingam banned from practising law

Old Timer: This is indeed good news, and I hope senior lawyer VK Lingam is not the last to be disbarred from practising law.

There are many more such lawyers out there who should be given the same treatment.

Anon1: This doesn't make any difference to a lawyer who's already semi-retired and has millions in his bank account.

It's the criminal justice system that has to get to work. But, sadly, this won't take place.

Anonymous_1375693422: The Bar Council has finally acted against Lingam: I say better late than never.

But the government is not likely to take action against any of those involved in undermining our judiciary.

Corruption has long spread to the highest levels in our government and institutions and in a "tahu sama tahu" (you know, I know) situation, corrupt leaders fear that they too would be exposed if they take action against others.

Crooks do not share honour but a collective insurance system of mutual silence. If we ordinary citizens want change, i.e. real change and not mere promises, the first thing we have to do is to throw out the decayed ruling party in the next general election.

Vote against BN even if Pakatan does not fully inspire confidence, for we can also kick Pakatan out later, if it fails to perform satisfactorily.

This is how we can make the system work for us and prevent corrupt leaders from making the system work for them.

Anonymous_1388029052: Yes, what about the rest? At the very least, sack those who are still holding government posts, such as Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. He is a real disgrace to the cabinet and the country.

And cut off the pensions of the other culprits, especially the ex-chief justices, who again are a disgrace to the judiciary. How did these jokers become judges?

Anonymous_1430119660: Lingam is just a victim. Why are his masters allowed to roam free, including former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan?

Peacemaker: What is to become of the decisions in cases where there has been clear evidence of judge-fixing, influencing judges and the perversion of justice? Will those decisions be allowed to stand?

They should be reopened immediately and examined for their correctness. The judges involved should be charged with corruption and the old judgments should be overturned.

If not, the taint of the injustice would remain for ever.

ACR: Apparently Lingam is a great legal mind, as vouched by those who know him, and good luck to those trying to get cases he won reviewed, notwithstanding the judge-fixing controversy that brought him down.

Even so, what reasonable review can one expect from the judiciary we currently have?

And let us not pretend that the old-boy network does not exist in the bar-bench relationship. It is just that Lingam went about it in a crude manner.

Dont Just Talk: Despite all the findings of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI), retired chief justices Eusoff Chin and Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim are still enjoying their fat monthly pensions.

In this country, where cash is king, the setting up of a RCI is just a waste of time and taxpayers' money, since no real follow-up action is taken on the six key personalities named by the RCI.

MinahBulat: Finally, justice has been served and the legal profession is rid of one bad apple. But people like Eusoff Chin and Ahmad Fairuz cannot be let off the hook.

The story of Lingam-Eusoff meeting by chance during their Christchurch holiday does not jive with the fact that both air tickets were allegedly paid by Lingam.

I was told that when Eusoff Chin was lord president, Lingam never lost a case, and there were even allegations that the lawyer wrote the judgment in one of the cases he was involved in.

P Dev Anand Pillai: Actions such as this will not be effective. These folks would have made their pile while the sun shone on them and while their stars were shining bright.

It is the independence of the judiciary and that of the office of the Attorney-General's Chambers that has got to be restored.

As long as we believe in the expressions 'cash is king' and 'cari makan', nothing will change.

Odin Tajué: The Bar Council finally got the seven-year itch and acted.

Doubtless over the last seven years, this 'Mr Correct, Correct, Correct' has added more millions to his nest. So being disbarred now is not going to make him lose any sleep.

Now to lawyer Cecil Abraham. Since he himself has allegedly admitted to having drafted the infamous second statutory declaration (SD2) of private investigator P Balasubramaniam, which he had allegedly admitted was on Prime Minister Najib Razak instructions, perhaps the Bar Council will act only after experiencing the seven-year-itch seven times.

By that time, both lawyer and client will have returned to dust.

Res Ipsa: It's better late than never. Lingam has finally been made to pay for his sins and it's no more than what he actually deserves. Now, can the Bar also expedite findings on the Cecil Abraham case, instead of dragging its feet.

Unafraid: Why does it take so long for justice to be carried out? What about the others who are implicated in this case?

Do we practise selective prosecution? It is high time that confidence in the integrity and independence of our judiciary is restored, or else we will be a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. Please give us back our dignity.

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