The Borneo Post published an explosive article on government’s intervention in our judiciary system during the administration under former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad… read the full story here (via Lim KS).
Basically, Justice Datuk H C Ian Chin, a high court judge in Sarawak, revealed yesterday that the former PM had threatened to remove judges that didn’t rule in government’s favour in a number of cases.
Also revealed are other attempts from the previous government to indoctrinate judges to hold the view that the (BN) government interest as being more important than all else when considering their judgement.
Another bomb to our judicial independence… another blow for TDM.
Former PM Tun Dr Mahathir has written a comprehensive article about the Tun Salleh Abas saga and the judiciary crisis in 1988, which Tun M himself was heavily involved in.
Facts, fictions, arguments, debates, excuses, or whatever… I have no way to verify what Tun M has written. It’s undeniable though, at least in public expression, that the 1988 crisis has marked the downfall of Malaysia’s judicial independence… and Tun M can never hide from that fact, ever.
Tourism Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said and Youth & Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob are calling for Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir’s resignation as chairman of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), citing the post as a government appointment.
Mokhzani, who quit Umno on May 21 following in his father and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s footsteps, had insisted he would hold on to the post as there was no directive from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad or the Finance Ministry asking him to leave.
SIC is a subsidiary of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, which is controlled by the government through Khazanah Holding. [Bernama]
Interesting call, Azalina and Ismail. So, what’s next? All the executive posts of GLCs, government offices, civil services, police force, armed forces blah blah must be hold by Umno members is it?
The reason why we started privatisation of companies is to separate those entities from political influences and to operate at their own in a corporate environment. What’s the point of operating SIC as a corporate if the politicians are going to interfere its operations for political reasons?
Besides, these two Umno fellas might be having their own agenda instead of political frenziness, read more from Rockybru.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Monday at 12.35pm that he is quitting Umno, citing a lack of confidence in the current leadership.
Dr Mahathir urged other party members to quit too, as a way of pressuring Abdullah into vacating his post. However, he advised those who do quit not to join any opposition party, adding they can all rejoin the party once there is a change in leadership. [Thestar & Malaysiakini]
The impact of Mahathir’s resignation is still unclear, but I doubt it could lead to a mass exodus of Umno members.
This reminds me of another story though… a recent TV interview featuring Perak football coach Steve Darby. He said that Malaysians have an odd mentality of supporting their team only when they are winning but not otherwise.
Mr Darby was quite right obviously. If Umno and BN had won handsomely at the March election… all these crossover and exodus saga would not have surfaced. At this time of crisis, it’s the moment when all Umno members should join their hands together and rebuild their reputation.
Umno members should stop listening to oppositions’ propaganda to bring down Badawi but to use their own logical sense instead.
Would Umno be any better if they change the leadership at the moment? Do they have suitable candidates to replace Badawi? The only obvious winner if Umno got into turmoil is Pakatan Rakyat… Mahathir should know that, and all Umno supporters should know that too.
Backstabbing and holding your top leadership at ransom is not something politicians should do, it’s the act of gangsterism… and it’s kinda disappointing to see that some politicians are acting like gangsters in our political arena.
Here comes the real heavyweight… Mahathir is now a blogger.
The blog has garnered almost 300,000 visitors in just 7 days, pretty amazing.
The royal inquiry into the Lingam video clip has started on Monday (Jan 14). 17 witnesses are expected to be called to testify in the Royal Commission of Inquiry, including former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (full list on Bernama).
Anti-Corruption Agency officials has told the royal commission on the VK Lingam tape that the room featured in the video clip was indeed the lawyer’s living room, as mentioned by businessman Loh Mui Fah during some earlier press interviews.
Loh has admitted that he was the person who talked to VK Lingam in the video, and that the video clip is authentic and was taken by his son in late December 2001. Loh however claimed that neither he nor his son knew how the video clip managed to get into public.
Read the rest of this post »
Keris can’t kill; a person with the keris can.
I accept that keris is a cultural symbol for Malays, for Malaysia in fact. Some people might not be aware, but we are seeing the keris almost everyday everywhere… with our Yang di-Pertuan Agong carrying it in his photo. There is nothing wrong with keris.
The issue lies in the person who carries the keris, and the agenda behind it.
UMNO youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein has made a decent statement at the 2007 general assembly that the kissing and hoisting of the keris symbolises the protection given to not only the Malays but also to other races in the country. [Bernama]
It could be a genuine statement, or probably just a PR stunt… but it doesn’t erase the fact that the ‘keris protect all Malaysians” ideology was not what he managed to portray when he played with his keris for the past couple of years.
I can’t blame too much on Hishammuddin though; it was a trend for UMNO youth to raise racial sentiment. Mahathir, Najib, Anwar etc. had all been criticized for their radical gimmick when they were in their early political days.
All these people need to build their network and support to move up the political rank… Hishammuddin won’t be the last person to play with sensitive issues in UMNO assembly.
Some Malaysians might not be happy about what Hishammuddin did, but there is nothing much to do against it besides ranting online or in coffee shops. Hishammuddin will march forward in his political career regardless of how we feel… we have to move on as well regardless of how he feels.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has released a video that was recorded in 2002, showing senior lawyer VK Lingam in a phone conversation, purportedly with current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, allegedly fixing the appointment of ‘friendly’ senior judges.
I am not surprised with the scandal, but am surprised that something like that was caught on tape (or video, whatever). Our judiciary system is losing faith among Malaysians since former PM Mahathir Mohamad fired the chief judge in 1988. Since then Malaysia no longer have a judiciary that is independent from government administration.
It is therefore no surprise that money and relationship play a greater part in determining the position of senior judges rather than based on pure merit.
The main media has been extremely quiet on this saga; the news is not completely blackout, but the scale of the reports is pathetic.
Meanwhile DPM Najib Abdul Razak has said that the government will first confirm the authenticity of the ‘VK Lingam’ video before deciding on the next course of action. [Malaysiakini]
You can read the draft transcript via PKR’s website or Malaysiakini.
[Follow this tag for updates about Lingam Tape Scandal]