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Yoursay: Ensure broad terms of reference for RCI on judiciary

YOURSAY | This is a golden opportunity to demonstrate that M’sia has turned the corner on judicial shame and abuse.

Zaid claims judicial rot started from Eusoff's time, backs RCI

Quigonbond: Chances are Tun (PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad) won't give a broad term of reference to any RCI (royal commission of inquiry) if it goes back to then chief justice Eusoff Chin because that would also implicate Tun.

So any RCI is going to be half-baked. But I guess it is better than nothing.

Oh, what problem have we walked into? There is no such thing as a gentleman in politics. Our ex-king was wise to propose to PKR leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be PM instead of Tun.

Imagine if she had done that during that critical time. Bersatu trying to become Umno 2.0 would be a non-starter.

And even if it is, it would be better managed to "give face" instead of what it is turning out to be - a total reneging of transition from Tun to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

I'm not saying Anwar is a saint, but he is the only compromise figure now and any idea to put someone else in place after Tun, like Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir, or PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, would be suicidal for the Pakatan Harapan coalition because none of them command the kind of confidence that Anwar does.

Abasir: For all those who are baying for an RCI again, just remember these five words in the Malaysiakini report regarding the previous RCI (on the VK Lingam video clip and judicial fixing) - "no action has been taken".

None of the politicians in the present regime will stick his or her head out to push for any extensive inquiry, given that one of those found "guilty" earlier for corrupting the judiciary is now the prime minister.

Where Mahathir is concerned, the judiciary is to be subservient to the executive - a point he has made in the past - not once but several times.

Judges who think for themselves and apply the law, like Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer for example, are to be treated as the enemy.

Moreover, the very ones he is now inducing into his Bersatu in a rush to get numerical strength include many of those who looked the other way as the judiciary was raped and those who are still beholden to the corrupt system for their lavish lifestyles.

Malaysiakini would be doing national service of sorts if it were to republish the reports and statements made at the height of the purge in 1988, only because most Malaysians are "mudah lupa".

Reading and re-reading those reports and statements may inject a dose of reality for those still having Harapan in their hearts.

The situation is hopeless... the deck is stacked against Hamid Sultan who will soon go the way of others who attempted to correct the system and be forgotten.

Old Fella: The terms of reference for the RCI should be prepared by an independent panel of three able lawyers appointed by the AG (attorney-general) for consideration by the cabinet.

The AG’s Chambers should not draft it because the Court of Appeal judge has complained against them.

If former CJ Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah is fit, he should head the commission assisted by say, Mah Weng Kwai, former Court of Appeal judge, lawyer Zainur Zakaria who boycotted Abdul Hamid Omar, the CJ who replaced ousted Lord President Salleh Abas, or Hendon Mohamad and Ambiga Sreenevasan, all from the Bar, and former home minister cum lawyer Zaid Ibrahim.

Just nice. Three Malays, one Chinese and one Indian.

Vijay47: It is no longer a matter of hushed allegations shared in coffeeshops and restaurants, soft murmurs behind four walls and closed doors.

The damning tales about our judiciary reached legendary proportions when a sitting Court of Appeal judge himself came forth to contribute to the charges, 62-pages worth of it.

Everyone seems in perfect agreement that public confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary has been severely shredded, yet the very persons who could institute the healing process - the prime minister, the chief justice, or the minister of law seem most reluctant to bell the cat.

This is a classic golden opportunity for them to demonstrate that Malaysia has turned the corner on judicial shame and abuse.

Hang Babeuf: Yes, something was decidedly "rotten" in the "House of Denmark" [according to then Court of Appeal judge NH Chan] and its entire context.

In fact, after [Lord President Mohd] Suffian [Mohamed Hashim], "the deluge".

A sad and tragic decline.

One brought about not (as in classical tragedy) by Fate, but by wilful and unprincipled men.

People not just with ordinary feet of clay, but needful pockets, minds poorly guided by the urgings of their perut (stomachs), and hearts full of putrefaction.

Anonymous Malaysia2018: Without remedial action, setting up an RCI is just shadow play (wayang kulit). Do the right thing. Leave a legacy which all people can admire and respect.

Without impartiality, people will shy away from the courts for remedies. People demand justice, fair play, equality. Be fair to all, be just to all, be equal to all. The court is the last bastion for justice.

When there is a big question mark on justice, where do people turn to? Indeed, judges should be impartial in all cases.

Investors in disputes seek justice in courts. There is no room for doubt; and never allow an iota of doubt in the judiciary system to hang over us.

We should not allow the nation to slide the slippery route. We will not recover from it.


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