| Does Malaysia Have a Newly Independent Judiciary? |
| Written by Our Correspondent | |
| Monday, 10 November 2008 | |
|
Page 1 of 2
The decision Friday by High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad to free the Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the editor of the internet publication Malaysia Today, has kicked off an intense round of speculation in Malaysia that the courts might be breaking loose from the thrall of the United Malays National Organisation, the country’s biggest ethnic political party. Raja Petra was ordered jailed on a plethora of charges in September, mainly for writing a series of scathing if not scabrous editorials and articles that sought to link Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to the 2006 execution murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, then 28, the jilted lover of Najib’s best friend, Abdul Razak Baginda. Abdul Razak and two of Najib’s bodyguards were arrested and subjected to one of the longest trials in Malaysian history before Abdul Razak was freed last week. The decision to free Abdul Razak spurred widespread controversy from critics who argued that the well-connected think-tank director’s acquittal was engineered because of his friendship with Najib. One of the articles that got Raja Petra into trouble, among many, was his printing a private investigator’s allegations that Najib had been the woman’s lover and had passed her on to Abdul Razak. The bodyguards remain in jail and have been ordered to put on a defense, raising questions over why they would kill a woman they didn’t know without being ordered to do so. In additional to being subject to charges of criminal defamation, Raja Petra was also charged with sedition and ultimately was given two years in prison for violating the country’s notorious Internal Security Act, which allows for what amounts to indefinite imprisonment without trial or habeas corpus. He was charged with publishing articles and readers’ comments critical of Islam and an insult to Muslims as well as publishing allegedly defamatory or false articles about Malaysia’s leaders “with the intention of undermining public confidence and inciting hatred against the government; the articles are alleged to be a threat to national security.”
“I
believe some of the authorities didn’t want him released,”
said a well-connected executive with ties to the regime of Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. “It’s the judge. At least
they’re more independent in making decisions now, and not
afraid of upsetting the executive. As much as I dislike Raja Petra
for the shithead he is, as you know the ISA has been abused too many
times in the past and victims have had no avenue to seek justice. Of
late, there have been several instances of judges making more
independent decisions, and that gives us all hope.”
Nonetheless,
the case is inextricably bound up in Malaysian politics, which in
turn is inextricably bound up with the Malaysian judiciary. In 1988,
amid a revolt against Mahathir’s leadership, a Malaysian high
court ruled that UMNO was an illegal organization. With the case
going to the Supreme Court, which had issued other adverse rulings
against the government, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in
effect fired Salleh Abbas, the Lord President, along with three other
Supreme Court justices. From that time forward, there were few if
any decisions that went against the government.
Comments
(5)
We better have the Rule of Law. Time's running out. Lean time's ahead. Oil price's down & oil's depleting. Global competition's hotting up. Only the population's up, up and away. Hungry people forget about skin colour otherwise black Obama won't be the US President elect when KKK was only recently around the corner. The majority Whites are realistic people.
Votes: +2
Foreign investment is a function of the rule of law. Meritocracy and efficiency in industry and government is the only way, like it or not, to generate wealth, create revenue to feed the bludgeoning hungry mouths. Our tiny neighbour, Singapore, is a case in point. No natural resources whatsoever & no economies of scale. Applying the universal growth principles can't be wrong. When investments contract, capital and entrepreneurial brains & talents flee for whatever reasons, the government of the day short of printing its own currency (like what Indonesia once resorted to under Soekarno that tore the whole resource-rich country apart) will not be able to pay its public servants, build & maintain its infrastructure, etc. Feeding 26 million Malaysians is no easy task Rhetorics & slogans then may not work. By then it may really be difficult to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We, Muslims then, will have no more stature and dignity internationally; widespread hunger & poverty, exporting our young girls as servants,aid recipient, etc. Why can't our leaders see this? Do we have to arrive then change. By then it will not be possible anymore I think . . . . so many, many, unfortunate countries are trapped like this because of less enlightened leadership who really only cares for themselves actually. If people in the government is bent on amassing their own fortunes & spreading it amongst their relatives, kinds and and friends then economic implosion will come sooner than you think. Start with filling our tertiary institutions with graduates who are unemployable that can only consume & ask what the government can do for them; not what they can do for the country. Build extra costs into businesses by having undertables for kickbacks, bribes, etc. Paying and letting duds run companies, institutions of higher learning, etc, will bring about dire consequences. A country that runs along sound principles can in fact collect a lot of revenues to feed the underclass, all deprived Malaysians, regardless of race, language or religion. report abuse
vote down
vote up
 written by TeamMember , November 11, 2008
To the so-called "Kuala Lumpur based lawyer", I would deeply appreciate if you will come out from beneath your little coconut shell and face us fellow lawyers with your criticisms of our client. When you were sleeping under the comfy husk of ignorance, we were burning the midnight oil to secure a man's freedom. Your comments smack of jealousy. Perhaps we left you out due to your endemic pessimism. Or perhaps for the simple reason that you simply did not believe that truth can prevail even against the greatest odds. Our profession is riddled with pretenders like you. It does not bode well for those of us who are struggling to restore the Rule of Law. You can either be with us or with the terrorists. From your comments, there is no doubt where you stand.
Votes: +9
report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by cyaw , November 10, 2008
hahaha,
Votes: +4
correct! correct! correct! malaysia has an independent judiciary. they are independent of justice, common sense. leopard unfortunately difficult to change its spots. most things are ingrained and institutionalised. this is a naive article as best. report abuse
vote down
vote up
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
Winning Hearts and Minds in AfghanistanMichelle Price The grim truth of war remains: hearts and minds are lost in the campaign to get the enemy by the balls
Full Story |
| Other Articles |
Malaysia's Najib and the Crony Culture The government backs down on a tycoon's sports betting plan
Full Story |
| most read... |
Alice Poon
| Book About Land and Power in Hong KongFriday, 02 July 2010 | Alice Poon
The Chinese edition of “Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong” has finally come to life. The title of the book is “地產霸權” and it is co-published... Full Story |
| Previous posts: |
John Elliott: Riding the Elephant
| From vultures in Delhi, to coups in Pakistan, a journalist's un-edited take on current events |
|
Donate to Asia Sentinel
What a BIG joke! The world is really laughing at Malaysia Boleh.