Altantuya trial date tango waste of time, money
One could be plainly nave to expect that such similar scenario would not be repeated during the trial that may last for months. It is equally preposterous not to have predicted the outcome ...
One could be plainly nave to expect that such similar scenario would not be repeated during the trial that may last for months. It is equally preposterous not to have predicted the outcome ...
On AG should prosecute Altantuya case
Munti Dann: Just when the much awaiting trial was scheduled to begin on last Monday, the court decided to replace the DPP for a 'surreptitious' reason. The postponement not only caused unduly extra stress to the victim's family, it is an outright waste of public's time and money.
One could be plainly nave to expect that such similar scenario would not be repeated during the trial that may last for months. It is equally preposterous not to have predicted the outcome especially if a political heavyweight is somehow connected.
After all, granted that the past is of any useful guidance, the legal system in our country has not been built on strong solid ground and that leaves much to be desired.
Sadly indeed, once the judiciary is messed up with politics (albeit it is supposedly to be beyond politics), the rest is purely a conjecture, if not a foregone conclusion.
Sadirah K: Whatever be the motives and intentions of the Attorney-General in changing the prosecution team at this last minute, the fact remains this raises more questions than answers. Obviously there is an absence of a 'Code of Conduct' both for prosecutors and judges. Ultimately, this is a failure of the AG. Unless we can develop a culture of responsibility, we can continue to find good enough reasons for disqualifications.
My perception is that the application by Karpal Singh to be part of the prosecution team has created a problem that has led to these changes. The reasons can be many and they can be manufactured at the last moment. The fact was that the prosecution team was already in place and the only issue that was new was the application by Karpal Singh.
The AG suddenly realised that he needed greater competency in this area and so decided to change their strategy. With Karpal Singh involved, there is less room now for inefficiency.
Who will hold the AG responsible for this late change? It has damaged the already poor reputation of the judiciary. His own sense of integrity in earlier cases also raises several concerns.
On Gatekeeping will not stop apostasy
Zakariah David: Is Islam a religion that forces itself on people who don't want it, or does the Malaysian justice system just make it look that way?
Lina Joy, like all Malays, never had the choice whether or not to embrace Islam. I know other Malays in the same situation as Lina Joy They sneak to Australia, Indonesia, England etc and get married there.
But Lina Joy trusted the system; she thought the Malaysian courts would give her justice if she tried to get married legally.
PT Tan: It looks like the only recourse that Lina Joy has besides leaving the country is to go to the Syariah courts.
However should the Syariah courts refuse or fail to endorse the fact she is no longer a Muslim, she should then go back to the civil courts to have a ruling that the Syariah courts' decision is ultra vires the federal constitution.
That will really open up a floodgate of litigation. The Syariah court was formed under the ambit of the constitution and should behave and function like one within it, not above it.
On Mengapa k'jaan tukar istilah Bahasa Melayu kepada Bahasa M sia
Concerned Non-Economist: It is a sad day for us when after 50 years we still cannot decide on Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia. This debate would have been relevant in the 1960s when 'bahasa' was 'jiwa bangsa'. But to day it is 'ekonomi jiwa bangsa'. Bahasa Malaysia may not help the economy but a good economy will certainly help the development of Bahasa Malaysia.
I have just returned from a country, whose name I dare not mention because it will invoke nasty comments, where the quality of living in the 50s was far superior to that of what we in Malaysia enjoy today.
Wake up Malaysians. Stop all this useless debate and accept what is already there and move forward for we have much catching-up to do. Otherwise our quality of living will be stuck in the 1950s.
Non-Jawi Rakyat Malaysia: What is the purpose of the 'national' language if many of us do not understand. Many Malays themselves cannot read and write Jawi well too. Language is to unite, not to exclude.
For Nora Ahmad's information, the non-Malays, who are also Malaysians, are not afraid of things Islamic and Malay because we treat them as one of us. It's always people like Nora who think that all non-Malays are against her even though she is unsure.
I am really sad that an educated person like Nora can make such an assumption.
On Putrajaya Mahathir's Fatehpur Sikri
Concerned Non-Economist: The government must come out to tell us where the money came from to continue the Putrajaya project after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. There are those who
are inclined to believe that our natural resources including oil, was sold at pre-1997 prices on a long-term contract with money paid up-front for the duration of the contract. One wonders why Petronas is so subdued at a time when oil prices have gone through the roof.
